Luis Nunez walked into the ring Saturday night as the up-and-coming featherweight prospect to keep an eye on, but it was his fellow undefeated foe in the little-known Christian Olivo who used the opportunity to make a statement and name for himself. 

The judges, however, saw it differently at the Dignity Health Sports Park, awarding the No. 4 WBO-ranked contender Nunez (19-0, 13 KOs) a questionable lopsided unanimous decision victory despite Nunez being outlanded by 37 punches and out-thrown by 248 punches. 

Judge George Cruz scored it 100-90, Zachary Young had it 97-93, and Rudy Barragan scored it 98-92 for Nunez. Showtime commentator and unofficial scorekeeper Steve Farhood scored the fight 96-94 for Olivo. 

Olivo (20-1-1, 7 KOs) exceeded all expectations, but apparently not his own, as he shared in his post-fight interview that he indeed thought he lost the fight and that he could have done more. 

The statistics, and what transpired, however, told a different story. 

Olivo landed 155 of 661 punches, compared to 118 of 413 by Nunez. Olivo had a 113 to 76 edge in power punches as well.

The 24-year-old Mexican Olivo, a five-year pro, was making a considerable step up in competition for his first 10-round fight, all while making his United States debut. To his credit, the 23-year-old Dominican Nunez displayed impressive hand speed and an effective jab while consistently countering the forward-marching Olivo. 

Olivo maintained pressure as the busier boxer throughout the bout, keeping Nunez on his back foot and forcing his foe to mostly throw one punch at a time. 

The first three rounds featured Olivo fighting at a high-pressure pace and seemingly banking rounds on the scorecards. 

In the fourth, Olivo fell twice in the middle of exchanges but referee Thomas Taylor ruled the first one a push, and the second a slip. 

After five rounds, it appeared Olivo had a slight edge in the fight. 

In the seventh round, Nunez started throwing wildly, unleashing and connecting with looping lefts and rights, but the undeterred Olivo kept pressing the action. The two stood in the middle of the ring and traded throttling punches much to the thrill of the fans. 

The Brooklyn-based Nunez, who was cornered by coach Andre Rozier, was told to “suck it up” in between rounds. 

Nunez nailed Olivo with several check hooks in the eighth round, but he failed to follow up with combinations. 

Nunez started slowing down in the ninth, and in the last round, an accidental clash of heads resulted in a cut over Olivo’s left eyebrow. 

The blow did not stop the determined Olivo, who kept firing off punches and forced Nunez to retreat. 

But at that point, it was Olivo who’d already gone too far backward on the scorecards. 

The fight opened the Showtime telecast for the Premier Boxing Champions card headlined by Sebastian Fundora and Brian Mendoza.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.