Jose Nunez Upsets Bryan Flores On Points in El Paso

Jose Nunez halted Bryan Flores’ progress towards a world title challenge with a unanimous points victory at the County Coliseum in El Paso. The Panamanian southpaw produced the more effective punching over ten rounds, met a stronger challenge in the middle of the contest and finished with damaging work to the body. Flores supplied pressure, but too often Nunez supplied the punches that justified a place on the scorecards.

Two judges awarded Nunez the contest by 97 points to 93, with the third returning 96 points to 94. The victory brought together the WBC FECARBOX and WBA continental super lightweight belts and preserved the visitor’s unbeaten record. He now has 19 wins, eight by knockout, and two draws. Flores suffered his second defeat against 29 victories, including 16 stoppages, and one draw.

This was a significant interruption to the Mexican’s recent run. Flores, 30, had beaten Starling Castillo by majority decision in January and Jonathan Navarro unanimously in July. His previous defeat came by split decision against Lindolfo Delgado in August 2024. Fighting in El Paso, across the border from his native Ciudad Juarez, offered a suitable setting for another advance. Instead, he encountered an opponent who made him pay for coming forward without consistently finding the target.

Nunez had arrived with considerable momentum of his own. His previous appearance ended with a second-round knockout of Erislandy Alvarez, the Cuban Olympic champion, in Santiago, Chile, in April. That result had already established his credentials beyond an unbeaten record. Ranked sixth by the WBA before this contest, he has followed it with a victory over another established contender. At the weigh-in, Nunez registered 139 pounds against Flores’ 140.

The opening round was largely an examination, each man looking for an opening before committing himself. Nunez began to establish his combinations in the second, finding enough success to oblige Flores to respond. The contest developed around that contrast: the Mexican trying to impose himself, the Panamanian more selective about when to attack. Nunez did not need a constant stream of punches to make his work count.

The third brought a more substantial warning for Flores. Nunez connected cleanly and had him troubled towards the end of the round. His movement also helped draw attacks short, leaving the Mexican struggling to bring his pressure to bear. Flores continued to exchange, but Nunez’s ability to move out of danger and then strike was becoming an important distinction between them.

There were opportunities for both men in the fourth and fifth, although Nunez retained the advantage built through the opening stages. Flores landed a useful combination in the fifth, but the visitor answered with a flurry. That mattered in a contest where neither fighter was producing overwhelming activity. A successful attack from Flores did not necessarily buy him the rest of the round.

The sixth was a better spell for the Mexican. He increased his offensive effort and pressed Nunez harder, making the exchanges more competitive. The Panamanian had less freedom than he had enjoyed earlier, and Flores was finally giving his forward movement more purpose. Yet this recovery did not turn into sustained command. Nunez’s speed and effective replies kept the following rounds closely contested.

Flores began the eighth encouragingly, only for Nunez to finish it more strongly. The Panamanian’s ability to answer an improvement from his opponent remained central to the fight. Flores was still sufficiently involved to make the remaining rounds important, but his pressure had not displaced Nunez’s cleaner contributions.

The ninth introduced a more uncomfortable problem for Flores when accidental head contact opened a cut around his right eye. Interruptions followed, but the contest continued. In the last round, Nunez attacked the body, hurting the Mexican and providing a forceful finish. Flores went to the canvas during that closing round, although the referee did not recognise a knockdown or administer a count.

I had Nunez winning clearly. Flores kept coming forward, but pressure means little when you’re waiting for openings instead of creating them. Nunez’s southpaw movement made him reach, and the cleaner counters took the confidence out of his attacks. Flores improved when he worked harder through the middle, but couldn’t sustain it. What I liked was Nunez returning to the body late rather than chasing the head. Flores showed resolve, but Nunez controlled the terms. The right man won.