TAMPA, Fla. – Jonatan Cardozo is getting the hang of these major events.
On a repeat of the final ProBox TV card of the night on Wednesday, Cardozo once again showed off his performance in a hotly contested bout, defeating him by unanimous decision scores of 97-93, 96-94, 96-94 Mexico’s gritty Eduardo Ramirez. .
Lightweight Cardoso, 18-1, completed his performance in the 10th fight, maintaining his aggressiveness against the rugged southpaw who has been in the ring against Al in recent years. Sac “Pitbull” Cruz, former champion Marc Magsayo and former title challenger Miguel Maríaga.
“Whenever things get tough out there, I know I’ve worked really hard to get to this moment,” Cardozo said.
The game came to a head in the ninth when Ramirez punched Cardozo and seconds later, Brazil’s Cardozo punched the area with his right fist, causing a cut to his left eye. .
“When he came toward me, I rushed forward with all the will in my heart and all the strength I had,” Cardozo said.
The Religious Warrior didn’t separate from Ramirez in the early rounds, 28-5-3, and Ramirez seemed to get the better of him in the fifth round with his tenacious style.
But Cardoso pressed hard in the sixth, pressuring Ramirez while landing a decisive jab to show his opponent that this was going to be his night.
Cardozo previously defeated Adam Lopez via split decision on the ProBox TV stage earlier this year.
In the co-main event, Luis Reynaldo Nunez’s left-hand speed shined as the Dominican neutralized the power-punching intentions of Mexico’s Leonardo Baez in their featherweight bout.
Nunez, who is 20-0 and has bounced back from contract issues that have sidelined him since April 2023, winning by scores of 99-91, 98-92, 98-92, explained that his hand Speed worked.
“I used it to win — round after round,” Nunez said. “I feel like it’s great that I got away. I didn’t miss a step.”
Nunez, who was promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz (David Benavidez, Sebastian Fundora), paid the price for his long absence from the ring, losing 1.8 pounds at Tuesday’s weigh-in.
In the ninth game, Baez hit a powerful punch that he wanted to decide the outcome of the game with a score of 21-6. He even urged Nunes to go to the center of the ring for a long face-to-face fight, and his fatigue showed.
Yet Nunez remained elusive, earning the admiration of Baez in the postgame locker room, who praised Nunez’s attention to detail.
Nunez said he now plans to return to the ring regularly — “as soon as possible,” he said — and expects to be ranked in 2025.
“I want all the opportunities that come with it,” he said.
