By Ian S Palmer
Former WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Luis Nery of Mexico takes on Azat Hovhannisyan of Armenia in Pomona, California this Saturday, February 18th. The 12-rounder is listed as a WBC junior featherweight title eliminator and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Nery last fought in October when he stopped David Carmona in the third round while Hovhannisyan was last in the ring in April when he halted Dagoberto Aguero in the second round.
Nery is a 28-year-old southpaw who has an impressive mark of 32-1 with 24 Ko’s and has boxed 162 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012. He stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 65-inch reach and possesses above-average power in his fists as he currently boasts a 73.5 per cent knockout ratio. However, he’s scored just one stoppage in his last four contests. Nery is fan-friendly boxer who throws punches in bunches and also owns a pretty solid chin.
Nery won the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight Title in September, 2020 via a unanimous decision over Aaron Alameda and then was stopped in his first defence by Brandon Figueroa in the seventh round for his lone loss. Since turning pro Nery has also captured the vacant WBC Continental Americas Bantamweight Title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Martin Casillas in 2016 and the vacant WBC Silver Bantamweight Title with a fourth-round stoppage over Raymond Tabugon in 2016 after being dropped in the first round.
He then stopped Shinsuke Yamanaka in the fourth round in 2017 to lift the WBC Bantamweight crown. Nery fought Yamanaka in a rematch in March, 2018 but came in overweight to lose the title. However, he still managed to win the fight by second-round stoppage He then won the vacant WBC Silver Bantamweight title again in October, 2018 with a third-round stoppage of Jason Canoy. He defended that belt with a ninth-round KO over Juan Carlos Payano in July, 2019 four months after stopping McJoe Arroyo after four rounds. Since losing to Figueroa he’s bounced back with a split decision win over Carlos Castro for the vacant WBC Silver and the WBO Intercontinental Super Bantamweight Titles and stopped Carmona in his last outing.
Hovhannisyan is 34 years old and owns a record of 21-3 with 17 Ko’s. He’s also a pretty hard hitter and possesses a current knockout ratio of 70.8 per cent. He’s got 119 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut in 2011 following a fine amateur career which saw him win the 2010 Armenian National Championships and fight at the 2009 AIBA World Championships and the 2010 European EUBC Championships. His first pro loss came at the hands of Juan Reyes by a four-round unanimous decision in his pro debut.
He was then beaten by Walter Santibanes via a six-round majority decision in 2014 and his last defeat coming to Rey Vargas by unanimous decision in 2018 in a shot at the WBC Super Bantamweight Title. Since then he’s won seven straight fights with six of them coming by stoppage. Since turning pro he’s captured the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight Title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Sergio Frias and has also beaten Ronny Rios, Jesus Martinez and Glenn Porras. Hovhannisyan stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 65-inch reach which gives him an inch height advantage over Nery.
Nery and Hovhannisyan are both aggressive action boxers with plenty of power and this should be a bit of a brawl while it lasts. It’s tough to pick a winner here but Nery is six years younger. However, the fight will most likely come down to chins as there’s going to be a lot of solid shots thrown and landed. No result will be a surprise here but I’ll give the edge to the younger Nery in an entertaining bout.
