A bitterly disappointed Aram Avagyan says he’s willing to do a rematch of his exciting showdown with Jose “Magnifico” Nunez, but this time things have to be a bit different.
The two undefeated super featherweights, Avagyan (10-0-2, 4 KOs) and Nunez (11-0-2, 4 KOs), fought to a fan-friendly eight-round majority draw this week, in the co-main event of Wednesday night’s edition of ShoBox: The New Generation from Mohegan Sun Arena.
But Avagyan, who was facing his fourth consecutive undefeated opponent, takes great exception to the outcome and feels the scores of judges Tom Carusone and John McKaie, who both scored the exciting fight 76-76, and especially Judge Peter Hary, who had it 77-75 in favor of Nunez, were way off base. Former champ Raul Marquez of Showtime, had it 77-75 for Avagyan.
“I was shocked,” said Avagyan from his adopted home in Los Angeles. “I thought I only lost round four and the last round. That’s all I give him, and I have 20 years’ experience in boxing. I know when I’m winning or losing.”
Avagyan says Panama’s Nunez must have been getting credit for punches that didn’t land throughout the fight.
“He didn’t hit me clean once!” Avagyan continued. “Every punch he threw, I blocked and then countered, and I caught him with clean power shots throughout. All he did was his slapping punch on my right arm over and over. The fight wasn’t even close. My coach told me don’t stop in the last round, but I said to myself that if I’m winning the fight, I don’t want to take a lot of risks because this is boxing. One lucky punch can end everything, so I just enjoyed myself for the last three minutes, knowing I had already won.”
Still stinging as he spends quality time with his family, Avagyan says he’d like the rematch with Nunez, but only under different circumstances with different officials.
“If the rematch is going to be like that, forget it. Were the judges watching my fight or another fight? The one who gave him 77-75 – was he just learning how to judge? I even knocked him down and they didn’t count it. It’s ridiculous.”
Avagyan’s promoter, Dmitriy Salita, says the fight was close in his eyes, but his fighter should have gotten the nod. Salita says if Team Nunez want to do it again, things will have to be a bit different.
“It was a highly competitive fight, but I thought Aram pulled it out,” said Salita. “I had it 77-75 for Aram, same as Raul Marquez. It’s great for boxing when two undefeated fighters face each other, so if the boxing fans and his team want to do it again, we are willing as well. But this time, it should be scheduled for 10 rounds, not eight. Then we’ll know who the real winner is, and I know it will be Aram.”
About Salita Promotions
Salita Promotions was founded in 2010 by Dmitriy Salita, a professional boxer and world-title challenger who saw the need for a promotional entity to feature boxing’s best young prospects and established contenders in North America and around the world. Viewers watching fighters on worldwide television networks including Showtime, HBO, ESPN, Spike TV, Universal Sports Network, UFC Fight Pass, DAZN, ESPN+ and MSG have enjoyed Salita Promotions fight action in recent years. We pride ourselves on offering our fighters opportunities inside and outside the ring. Salita Promotions looks forward to continuing to grow and serve the needs of fight fans around the globe.
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