SPORTS SHORTS 265: MIKE PLANIA ANNIHILATES RICARDO NUÑEZ BY FIRST ROUND KNOCKOUT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 22 Nov 2021
Mike "Magic" Plania scores his 11th straight win against Ricardo “El Matematico” Nuñez in the very first round in their non-title bout as he establishes himself as a strong contender for a shot at the world super bantamweight title.
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Plania achieved another magical win atop the ring on November 20 (Sunday, November 21, Philippine time) at the Manuel Artime Community Center Theater in Miami, Florida.
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He planted a solid right hand on his Panamanian foe that sent him dizzy and continued his fierce attack with flurry of punches, and the referee stopped the punishment at the 2:41 mark of the opening round.
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Plania displayed the same aggression that upset the favorite Joshua Greer Jr. last year, as he dominated the fight from the opening bell, striking Nuñez with hard hitting lefts.
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Nuñez fought at close range mixed it up with Plania at the center of the ring. The Filipino proved to possess faster and keener punches which caused the stoppage of the match.
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The 24-year-old Plania recorded his 11th straight win and raised his record to 26-1 with 13 knockouts. He stopped his opponent after three straight decision wins: Emmanuel Mogawa of Dipolog City by UD, Joshua Greer Jr of Chicago by MD, and Giovanni Gutierrez of Nicaragua by UD.
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Nuñez, a two-time world title challenger, suffered his seventh straight loss and his record dipped to 29-13 with 23 knockouts. He lost to Juan Carlos Reveco of Argentina by 8th round TD for the WBA flyweight title and to Moruti Mthalane of South Africa by 8th round TKO for the IBF flyweight title.
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Plania showed Sanman Promotions owner JC Manangquil that he is ripe for a challenge at the super bantamweight belt. "A world title fight next," Manangquil was quoted Rappler. "We'll look for big fight."
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Plania is considered one of Sanman Boxing Gym’s brightest prospects, was also the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) North American super bantamweight champion.
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More significantly, Plania ended Sanman Boxing gym’s back-to-back defeats of its fighters after John Vincent Moralde and Mark Vincent Bernaldez’s knockout losses in their respective bouts earlier this month.
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Moralde lost to Mexican William Zepeda for the WBA Continental Americas lightweight championship by 4th round KO. Bernaldez was stopped by American Andres Cortes by 3rd round TKO.
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Terence Crawford has decided to separate himself from Bob Arum and his promotional company Top Rank Inc., that he had a contract with in his stint as a three-weight world champion.
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His deal with Top Rank expired after his 10th-round technical knockout win over former welterweight champion Shawn Porter at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.
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Now Crawford is a promotional free agent, and being one of the top fighters pound-for-pound in the boxing world obviously he has a lot of options to choose from for his first fight next year 2022.
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“Well, I’m pretty sure my decision is made already,” Crawford said. “You know, Bob couldn’t secure me the Spence fight when I was wit’ him. So, how he gonna secure me the Spence fight when I’m not wit’ him? So, you know, I’m moving forward with my career right now and I wish everybody the best.”
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ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith says Stephen Curry is a better leader than Kevin Durant: "He’s never shown that he’s the guy that will carry a franchise on his shoulders."
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“KD is a superstar, so is Steph. The difference is, Steph is a better leader,” Smith was quoted by Fadeawayworld. He recalled all the times Durant had a hard time being the leader of his team. It happened in Oklahoma City, in Golden State, and also in Brooklyn.
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“KD was in Oklahoma City, there was a struggle of leadership between him and Russell Westbrook. KD goes to Golden State, clearly didn’t have to be the leader. KD followed Kyrie to Brooklyn. He’s never shown that he’s the guy that will carry a franchise on his shoulders.”
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Top 20 PBA All-time career scoring leaders :
1. Ramon Fernandez 18,996
2. Abet Guidaben 15,775
3. Alvin Patrimonio 15,091
4. Atoy Co 12,994
5 . Nelson Asaytono 12,668
6 . Philip Cezar 12,077
7. Jojo Lastimosa 12,008
8. Bogs Adornado 11,967
9. Robert Jaworski 11,760
10. Allan Caidic 11,719
11. Jerry Codiñera 10,868
12. James Yap 10,843
13. Benjie Paras 10,322
14. Francis Arnaiz 10,292
15. Freddie Hubalde 9,927
16. Manny Victorino 10,068
17. Arwind Santos 9,774
18. Mark Caguioa 9,686
19. Vergel Meneses 9,453
20. Arnie Tuadles 9,430
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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