By Jake Donovan
Luis Nery’s second run towards bantamweight glory will come with a new team in tow.
The unbeaten former titlist is the latest to join the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) family, according to several sources in Nery’s native Mexico with knowledge of the development. Reportedly, Nery—through promoter Zanfer Promotions—has signed a five-fight agreement with the Al Haymon-founded conglomerate.
Representatives from PBC and Zanfer Promotions have declined comment as this goes to publish, nor would either confirm said deal is yet official.
Nery (28-0, 22KOs) has endured both the best and worst of times since earning 2016 BoxingScene.com Prospect of the Year honors. His 2017 campaign saw the unbeaten southpaw unseat long-reigning bantamweight king Shinsuke Yamanaka, knocking out the previously undefeated champ in the fourth round of their Aug. ’17 battle in Japan.
His reign was short-lived, with a pre-fight drug test surfacing three weeks after the fight showing trace amounts of Zilaterol. Nery was partially exonerated by the World Boxing Council (WBC), as the Mexico City-based sanctioning body was sympathetic in its Nov. ’17 ruling, lending credence to his insistence of ingesting the banned substance through contaminated meat in referencing his numerous clean tests surrounding the event.
In lieu of a suspension, Nery—who had beaten Arthur Villanueva in a non-title fight while awaiting his fate—was ordered to face Yamanaka in an immediate rematch, which took place last March in Japan. However, his career hit a new low when showing up three pounds heavy for the bout, for which he was stripped of the title and permanently banned by the Japan Boxing Commission.
Two wins have since followed, including a 3rd round knockout of Jason Canoy at the 118-pound bantamweight limit in his comeback fight last October. His most recent win came in December, stopping Renson Robles in five rounds.
The next ring adventure for the 24-year old knockout artist will double as his PBC debut as well as his first career fight in the United States.
Having fought almost exclusively in Mexico—save for his pair of fights with Yamanaka in Japan—Nery will likely find his way to the undercard of the March 16 Fox Pay-Per-View event in Arlington, Texas, topped by defending welterweight titlist Errol Spence versus unbeaten Mikey Garcia, who moves up from lightweight.
Opponents for his next couple of fights will likely provide a direct path towards regaining his old title. Nordine Oubaali filled the near year-long vacancy atop the WBC 118-pound rankings with a 12-round win over former amateur rival Rau’Shee Warren one week ago in Las Vegas.
With the win, Oubaali will now have to next face unbeaten Takuma Inoue, who won an interim title in a 12-round nod over Petch Sor Chitpattana last December.
Nery is eager to fight the winner later this year, hoping to have fought at least twice by then.
“My team spoke with (WBC President) Mauricio Sulaiman about fighting the winner of Oubaali-Inoue in June,” Nery told Zone ESPN on Friday.
