Dominican featherweight Luis “The Twist” Núñez will battle fellow unbeaten Jonathan Fierro of Mexico in the ten-round Showtime Championship Boxing telecast opener this Saturday, May 21st from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. headlining a Premier Boxing Champions event. The telecast is headlined by unbeaten former two-time champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez returning to fight in his home state against former IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux for the vacant WBC interim super middleweight title. The telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and also features Cuban junior middleweight Yoelvis Gómez taking on Mexico’s Jorge Cota in a ten-round contest. Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Sampson Boxing and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com.
After piling up an 85-5 amateur record, Núñez (16-0, 12 KOs) turned pro in 2018 and racked up knockouts in eight of his first nine outings. Fighting out of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Núñez made his U.S. debut in September 2021 by winning a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Jayvon Garnett. The 22-year-old followed up that performance by taking down another undefeated fighter, as he stopped Carlos Arrieta in the tenth round of their January showdown. Both of those fights were aired on ShoBox.
“Not many fighters get the opportunities that have been given to me,” said Núñez. “I feel blessed and grateful to be in this position. It was a great honor to fight on SHOWTIME in my last fight and I’m thankful to my whole team for being put on this platform. I’m going to make the most of this chance that I have. The best is yet to come!”
The 18 year-old Fierro (13-0, 12 KOs) made his U.S. debut in Arizona last November, as he stopped Victor Ruiz in the first round. A native of Guadalajara, Mexico, Fierro most recently knocked out the previously unbeaten Daniel Bailey in March. A pro since late 2019, Fierro scored knockouts in his first seven fights before winning an eight-round unanimous decision in April 2021.
“First of all I want to thank everyone that has made this great opportunity possible for me,” said Fierro. “This is a dream come true and I can’t wait to get in the ring. I am training extremely hard to be at my best and show everyone what I’m capable of. Luis Núñez is a great fighter, but come May 21, he will know what it is to fight a true Mexican style warrior.”