Navarrete pressed forward from the opening bell and forced Nunez to circle the ring. A wide left hook in the third landed cleanly. By the fourth, blood was visible under Nunez’s right eye as Navarrete continued to work him out.
Nunez had brief success in the sixth when he pinned Navarrete in a corner with a late flurry, and the seventh featured lively exchanges from both men. In the eighth, Nunez worked the body and tried to regain ground. But Navarrete repeatedly targeted the injured eye with left hooks, and by the ninth it was almost over.
The ringside doctor examined Nunez between rounds as blood ran down the side of his face. The fight was officially stopped one second into the 11th round. Referee Ben Rodriguez oversaw the main event.
In a welterweight contest, Abel “Abelito” Ramos, 29-6-3 (22), of Casa Grande, AZ, scored a 10 competitive round victory over WBA North American Continental Champion Tahmir Smalls, 16-1 (11), of Philadelphia, PA.
Smalls used his jab effectively in the first four rounds, while Ramos, returning after 15 months of inactivity, gradually worked his way into the fight. From rounds five to eight, Ramos invested in the body and started landing the heavier punches. A right hand in the ninth drew blood from Smalls’ mouth. The final round was close, but Ramos’ work in the second half was decisive.
Judges scored it 98-92 and 97-93 for Ramos, and 96-94 for Smalls. Referee Ben Rodriguez.
In the co-feature, Emiliano “El General” Vargas, 17-0 (12), of Las Vegas, NV, stopped Agustin Ezequiel Quintana, 22-3-1 (13), of San Francisco Solano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, after nine rounds of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.
Vargas drew blood from Quintana’s mouth in the second round. A clash of heads in the fourth opened a cut over Quintana’s right eyebrow and under the eye. Quintana was warned for a low blow in the fifth by referee Raul Caiz Jr. and had solid moments in the fifth and sixth rounds.
Vargas regained control in the seventh and eighth, landing clean punches when another clash of heads caused a cut over Quintana’s left eyebrow. The ringside doctor examined Quintana between rounds. In the ninth, Vargas had Quintana held as swelling around both eyes increased. After the round, referee Caiz waved off the match on Quintana’s corner.
In a super bantamweight bout, Arturo Cardenas, 17-0-2 (9), of Sahuayo de Morelos, Michoacan, Mexico, fought Jordan “El Moreno” Martinez, 16-0-1 (15), of Phoenix, AZ, to a split draw over 10 rounds.
Martinez pressured the action early and looked to outplay Cardenas in the opening rounds. Cardenas responded in the middle rounds, and the fight remained close throughout. The 10th round saw sustained exchanges from both fighters.
The scores were tied 98-92 Martinez, 96-94 Cardenas, and 95-95. Referee Raul Caiz Jr.
In other matches:
Super lightweight Trini Ochoa, 21-1 (9), of Phoenix, AZ, lost an eight-round decision to Oscar Alvarez Guerrero, 15-2 (12), of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. Scores were twice 78-74 and 79-73.
Bantamweight southpaw Phillip Vella, 5-0 (2), of Henderson, NV, defeated Brayon Ramos Armenta, 8-8-1 (2), of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, over six rounds, with all three judges scoring it 60-54.
Super welterweight Hector “Handsome” Beltran, 7-0 (5), of Dallas, TX, defeated Cesar “Maravilla” Diaz, 10-2 (5), of Atlanta, GA, over six rounds.
Welterweight Rahman Muhammad, 2-0 (2), of Las Vegas, NV, stopped Mitchell McFadden, 1-1 (1), of Atlanta, GA, in two rounds of a scheduled four-round bout.
The ring announcer was David Diamante.
