SPORTS SHORTS 259: MIKE PLANIA PREPARES WELL FOR RICARDO NUÑEZ FIGHT ON NOVEMBER 20
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 10 Nov 2021
“Magic” Mike Plania will fight again in the United States when he clashes with former world title contender Ricardo “El Matematico” Nuñez of Panama on November 20, 2021 at the Manuel Artime Community Center Theater in Miami, Florida.
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“I am extremely excited for this fight. Nuñez 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 said as quoted by SunStar.
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Plania last fought in America with an upset 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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Plania floored Greer twice in the first and sixth rounds with thundering left hooks to score a majority decision, 94-94, 96-92, and 97-91. The Chicago, Illinois native was a 16-1 favorite and was the WBO-NABO bantamweight champion in 2019.
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CompuBox statistics showed that Plania outlanded Greer, recording 99-of-290 power punches for the Filipino, 22 more than the American's 77-of-227.
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“This will change my life,” said Plania, after the Greer victory as told to Boxing Scene through a translator. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a kid, and now God gave me a chance.”
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Plania's last fight was a unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Mogawa of Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte in a tune-up fight at the Sanman Gym in General Santos City on April 30, 2021.
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Plania, one of the stars of JC Manangquil's Sanman Promotions, is presently rated No. 4 by WBO, No. 5 by WBA, No. 9 by IBF, and No. 15 by WBC in the super bantamweight/junior featherweight division.
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Nuñez is a veteran of 41 professional fights. However, he hasn’t fought for almost two years and has lost his last six bouts. 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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Nuñez first fought for a world title against Moruti Mthalane of South Africa for the IBF flyweight title but lost via technical knockout on September 1, 2012 at the Arena Roberto Duran, Panama City.
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A year later on October 12, 2013, he challenged Juan Carlos Reveco of Argentina for the WBA flyweight belt but lost via an eigth round technical decision in Mendoza, Argentina. Reveco was cut over his right eye in clash of heads in 8th and the fight was stopped.
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Nuñez has also fought the likes of Carlos Tamara (W-TKO6), Drian Francisco (L-KO5), Nerys Espinoza (W-TKO12) and Carlos Cuadras (L-TD7).
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Francisco fought Ricardo Nuñez in a WBA super flyweight eliminator on April 17, 2010, at the Yñares Sports Arena in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines. A few days before the bout, Francisco indicated that a win against Nuñez was the key for a title shot.
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The Filipino fighter won the bout with a very impressive knockout win at the 5th round. Francisco dominated the bout from the very start and Nuñez went down twice in the opening round.
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Nuñez survived the count and tried to defend himself and box his foe in the second and third round. Nuñez was knocked down twice again in the 5th, after raining a barrage of solid combinations from Plana and referee Bruce McTavish stopped the bout after the second knockdown.
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Plania is 25-1 with 12 knockouts, while Nuñez is 29-12 with 23 knockouts. Plania has fought 26 bouts in 138 rounds with a KO rate of 46.15%. Nuñez has a KO rate of 56.1% in 41 bouts covering 193 rounds.
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Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach showed interest in training former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for a possible rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua lost his IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO titles when he lost for the second time in his pro career when he was outpointed by Usyk.
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Roach announced that he would be willing to help Joshua in his preparations. "You know where my gym is," Roach told IFL TV. "I do run into him once in a while, he's a character, and I've told him all he needs to do is come home."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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