Luis Nery vs. Juan Carlos Payano To Land On Pacquiao-Thurman

By Jake Donovan

The latest addition to the July 20 show in Las Vegas only strengthens what already rates as the best card of 2019 to date.

Unbeaten former bantamweight titlist Luis Nery has been confirmed as a participant on the stacked Pay-Per-View card at MGM Grand and now has an opponent for the event. Squaring off with the two-fisted knockout artist is fellow former bantamweight titlist Juan Carlos Payano, as two sources close to his camp have confirmed to BoxingScene.com his agreeing to terms for the fight which was offered less than a week ago.

The bout is still just short of being fully finalized, but once wrapped up will come in supporting capacity to the welterweight title consolidation bout between unbeaten long-reigning titlist Keith Thurman and former eight-division title claimant Manny Pacquiao. Their July 20 clash tops what will serve as Fox Sports’ second-ever PPV event.

Nery (29-0, 23KOs) appeared on the undercard of Fox Sports’ maiden voyage into the PPV market, which was topped by Errol Spence’s 12-round whitewash of Mikey Garcia in a battle of unbeaten pound-for-pound entrants this past March in Arlington, Texas. On the undercard, Nery scored a 4th round knockout of former 115-pound titlist McJoe Arroyo.

The bout served as the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) debut for the 24-year old from Tijuana, who is currently riding a nine-fight knockout streak. Two came versus long-reigning bantamweight king Shinsuke Yamanaka, whom Nery dethroned in Aug. 2017 and subsequently stopped in their March 2018 rematch.

Both fights were mired in controversy, however. Nery tested positive for banned substance Zilpaterol through drug testing surrounding their first fight. He was absolved of his sins by the WBC—whom attributed the adverse finding to contaminated meat—but the Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) wasn’t nearly as forgiving of his pre-fight follies heading into the rematch when he showed up five pounds above the bantamweight limit.

The rematch still moved forward as scheduled, but Nery was stripped of his WBC title and shown the door after the fight by the JBC, who hit the top-rated bantamweight with a lifetime suspension in Japan. He’s won three straight since returning to the ring last October, including his aforementioned win over Arroyo, whom represented Puerto Rico alongside twin brother McWilliams Arroyo in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Nery will now fight his second straight Olympian in Payano (21-2, 9KOs), a former bantamweight titlist whom represented Dominican Republic in the 2004 and 2008 Games.

The 34-year old southpaw—who relocated early in his pro career to Miami, Fla., where he presently lives and trains—claimed a bantamweight title with a technical decision win over long-reigning champ Anselmo Moreno in 2014. His reign was stretched out for nearly two years but only featuring one successful defense—a 12-round split decision win over three-time U.S. Olympian Rau’Shee Warren in Aug. 2015.

Payano would concede his title to Warren in their June 2016 rematch, having since won four of his last five starts. The lone loss during that stretch was a frightening, one-punch 70-second knockout at the lethal hands of unbeaten pound-for-pound entrant Naoya Inoue in the opening leg of the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament last October.

Inoue has since advanced to the WBSS finals, where he awaits a date and location (likely Osaka, Japan) versus Nonito Donaire. Meanwhile, Payano rebounded with a thorough 10-round dismantling of previously unbeaten Damien Vazquez—the younger brother of former World super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez—this past March.

Also included on the loaded July 20 PPV card and as previously reported by BoxingScene.com are a pair of welterweight crossroad bouts— former 140-pound titlist Sergey Lipinets will face John Molina Jr.; while unbeaten former lightweight titlist Omar Figuerpoa will collide with recent title challenger and top-rated contender Yordenis Ugas.

Preceding the PPV telecast but also taking place at MGM Grand, unbeaten 168-pound titlist Caleb Plant makes his first title defense versus undefeated challenger Mike Lee. Their bout will air live on free-to-air Fox as a lead-in to the PPV portion of the evening.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox