SPORTS SHORTS 253: MAGIC MIKE PLANIA CLASHES WITH RICARDO NUNEZ OF PANAMA ON NOVEMBER 20
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 02 Nov 2021
World super bantamweight contender “Magic” Mike Plania (25-1, 12 KOs) of Sanman Boxing will be back in action when he clashes with former world title contender Ricardo “El Matematico” Nunez of Panama on November 20 at the Manual Airtime Community Center Theater, Miami, Florida.
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Plania is rated No. 4 WBO, No. 5 WBA, No. 9 IBF, and No. 15 WBC in the super bantamweight/junior featherweight division.
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Nunez (29-12, 23 KOs) is a grizzled veteran fighter who has faced deadly world champions like Moruti Mthalane, Drian Fancisco and Juan Carlos Reveco. The fight will be organized by MNR Promotions.
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Plania is rigidly training at the Moros Gym under the watchful eyes of Cuban coach Moro Fernandez. Plania’s only career loss was at the hands of world champion Juan Carlos Payano and has been on a ten fight winning streak since then.
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“I am extremely excited for this fight. Nunez is a no pushover opponent being a seasoned veteran. I am preparing myself for war. A win against him can be a ticket to bigger fights and closer to a world title," Plania stated.
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Given with the biggest opportunity of his fighting career, Mike Plania took advantage of it with a stunning win over the heavily-favored Joshua Greer Jr. on June 16, 2020 at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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It was a Top Rank no-attendance card due to pandemic restrictions and Plania became the first Filipino boxer to fight during the Covid-19 scare.
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The unknown Filipino fighter accepted the offer with just less than a month to prepare, but proved everybody that it was enough time to upset the No. 1 ranked WBO bantamweight contender and made himself admired in the boxing world.
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Plania dropped Greer twice in the first and sixth round with snapping left hooks en route to a majority decision, 94-94, 96-92, and 97-91. The Chicago, Illinois native was a 16-1 favorite and held the WBO-NABO bantamweight title in 2019.
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CompuBox recorded that Plania outlanded Greer, counting 99-of-290 power punches for the Filipino, 22 more than the American's 77-of-227.
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Plania's last fight was a unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Mogawa of Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte at the Sanman Gym in General Santos City on April 30, 2021.
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Plania's only career loss was dealt by Juan Carlos Payano on March 23, 2018 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, USA for the vacant World Boxing Organization intercontinental bantamweight title.
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Payano is from Dominican Republic, who held the WBA and then concurrently the IBO bantamweight titles between 2014 and 2016.
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Michael Angelou Villafuerte Plania alias "Magic" is a 24-year-old orthodox fighter, standing 5′ 5½″ (166cm) and a reach of 65½″ (166cm) from General Santos City. He has fought 26 bouts in 138 rounds with a KO rate of 46.15%.
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Nunez is an orthodox fighter standing 5′ 7″ (170cm) has a KO rate of 56.1% in 41 bouts covering 193 rounds. His last fight was on December 12, 2019 with a fifth round stoppage of Luis Lebron of Puerto Rico in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
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Three division world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko would like to end the year with a bang when he collides with former world champion Richard “RC” Commey on December 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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Lomahcenko will redeem his pound-for-pound status after suffering an upset unanimous decision loss to Teofimo Lopez last year. He recovered last June, with an annihilating ninth-round stoppage of Japanese Masayoshi Nakatani.
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On September 25, Oleksandr Usyk became a two division world champion when he outclassed Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision over twelve rounds to seize the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO world titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England.
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Later, Joshua exercised an immediate rematch clause. The return bout is scheduled to happen in the first quarter of next year. Joshua has vowed to be more aggressive in the future and promised to give Uysk "war" in the rematch.
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There are talks that Joshua is planning to add another trainer to his team, to assist coach Robert McCracken. "I am not sure who will train Joshua for the rematch,” said Usyk to DAZN News. “I have seen the speculation about who he may hire for next year but it does not matter to us who trains him."
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K. C. Jones spent all nine seasons of his professional career with the Boston Celtics, winning eight championships from 1959-1966. He won eight straight title rings, going a perfect 8-0 in the Finals. After the Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1967 playoffs, Jones retired from his NBA career.
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Jones is one of seven players in history to achieve a rare basketball “Triple Crown,” which means winning an NCAA Championship, an NBA title, and an Olympic Gold Medal. The other six are Bill Russell, Clyde Lovellette, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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