Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez Stops Miguel Marriaga After Six Rounds, Remains IBF 130-Pound Mandatory

Eduardo Nunez sent an emphatic reminder of what awaits the Anthony Cacace-Josh Warrington winner.

The red-hot knockout artist added another victim to his collection. This time, it was former title challenger Miguel Marriaga who failed to hear the final bell. Nunez twice floored the Colombian veteran and forced a stoppage after six rounds Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Nunez (28-1, 28 knockouts) is all gas, no brakes whenever he enters the ring. Marriaga was surprisingly game for the cause as he took the fight to the heavy-handed Mexican at the start of the bout.

It didn’t take long for momentum to shift. Nunez quickly closed the gap in the second and third rounds, though Marriaga refused to back down.

Marriaga actually enjoyed a solid start to the fourth round before Nunez beat the fight out of him.

A wicked left hook to the body froze Marriaga in place just long enough for Nunez to slam home a right hand. Marriaga fell through the ropes and nearly all the way out of the ring. He managed to make it to his feet and survived the remaining two minutes of the round, though there was concern over whether the 37-year-old should be permitted to continue.

Marriaga (31-8, 26 KOs) extended Nunez into the sixth round but couldn’t last any longer than that. Nunez went on the attack and finally broke Marriaga’s will with a left hook to the body. Marriaga took another right hand upstairs for good measure as he was on his way to taking a knee. He once again beat the count and made it to the bell.

The ringside physician and referee both immediately met with Marriaga’s corner, who confirmed their guy was done for the night. It marked just the second stoppage defeat suffered by Marriaga. The lone other occasion came in a failed Aug. 2017 junior lightweight title bid versus Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Nunez has now stopped each of his last eighteen opponents. His lone career fight to go the distance resulted in his only defeat—a controversial split decision in June 2o18.

The run included the guarantee of his first, and forthcoming, title shot. Nunez went beyond the tenth round for the first time in his career but didn’t need much longer than that. He stopped former IBF 130-pound titlist Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14 KOs) in the eleventh round of their title eliminator on Feb. 16 on the road in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Nunez became the mandatory challenger to Cacace’s IBF title, and the sanctioning body even ordered the fight. However, it was agreed that Cacace (22-1, 8 KOs) would first get a voluntary defense versus Warrington (31-3-1, 8 KOs) on the Sept. 21 Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois Riyadh Season UK debut at Wembley Stadium in London.

The winner will have to face Nunez or else give up the title.

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