Luis Nunez has hopes to shed the brunt of being a high-risk, low-reward contender on Saturday night.
Nunez will face Hector Andres Sosa in a 10-round featherweight bout at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. Nunez will fight on the Prime Video prelims before the pay-per-view telecast of the junior welterweight clash between Isaac Cruz-Lamont Roach Jnr.
Nunez, 21-0 (14 KOs), is currently ranked No.6 by the IBF and No.10 by the WBA. Nunez, a 26-year-old Dominican fighter who trains in Las Vegas with Bob Santos, hopes that he can land a big fight in the coming year. Bob Santos, his trainer, explains the difficulties the top contender has had in staying active.
“It’s been virtually impossible to get fights,” Santos told BoxingScene. “He’s one of those high-risk, low-reward guys that most contenders simply don’t want to deal with. The truth is, Nunez is willing to fight any of the champions. The real question is whether any of them are willing to fight him.”
Nunez, who is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz and managed by Michael Miller, will return for his second fight of 2025. In June, he knocked out Daniel Ramirez in the fourth round. Before that, Nunez won a 10-round unanimous decision over Leonardo Baez on ProBox TV in December 2024.
Santos gave his thoughts on the ever-changing 130lb division.
“Everyone knows Espinoza is the king of the featherweight division, and of course, we’d love an opportunity to face him,” Santos said. “He’s the benchmark, the guy you target if you want to prove you’re the best.”
Sosa, 18-3 (9 KOs), defeated Liborio Solis earlier this year. Sosa, a 30-year-old from Junín, Buenos Aires, Argentina, holds win over soon to be WBA junior lightweight champion James “Jazza” Dickins and also Keenan Carbajal. He lost a unanimous decision in 2024 to Omar Trinidad. Santos believes that Nunez will not just need to win this bout, but stay locked in the gym, as an opportunity could come at any moment. Santos equates it to Hall of Fame boxer Manny Pacquiao, who saw his first big opportunity come as a two-week replacement, or Terence Crawford, who was a last-minute replacement to face Breidis Prescott.
“It might end up being a situation like Pacquiao early in his career,” Santos said. “You stay locked in, stay in the gym, and when that unexpected shot comes, you’re prepared to seize it. Sometimes you’re almost too good for your own good, and that may be the case here.”
