IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane (29-, 20KOs) knocked out mandatory challenger Ricardo Nunez (24-3, 20KOs) in the eight round at the Arena Roberto Duran in Panama. An action packed fight where both boxers were down and hurt during the contest.
Near the end of the second minute of the very first round, Mthalane caught Nunez cold and put him down with a hard shot. Nunez beat the count and started circling to stay away. Mthalane was working him over and landing clean punches until the bell.
Nunez started throwing wild punches at the start of the second round and continued to come foward with wild shots. Mthalane stayed defensive and was landing hard shots of his own.
Nunez's wild punches paid off when a flurry of shots dropped Mthalane at the end of the third.
Nunez went right back to work at the start of the fourth and the entire layout of the fight changed with Mthalane staying away and trying to box his way out of trouble.
After some very shaky rounds, Mthalane started coming back in the seventh. During the eight, he started breaking Nunez down and blasted him with both hands to finally send him flying down as the referee quickly waved it off before Nunez even hit the ground. Nunez was flat on his back getting checked out by his team and the ringside doctor after the fight was stopped.
In the co-feature, former WBA flyweight champion Luis “El Nica” Concepcion (26-3, 20KOs) won an eight round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Pablo Carrillo (9-1-1, 4KOs). The scores were 78-74, 78-74 and 78-75.
