Nery overwhelms Arroyo, wins in five

Luis Nery had way too much firepower for McJoe Arroyo.

Bantamweight star Luis Nery made his U.S. debut a highly successful one tonight, dominating McJoe Arroyo and getting a TKO win when Arroyo didn’t come out for the fifth round.

Nery (29-0, 23 KO) is a former bantamweight titleholder who never lost his belt in the ring, and he showed his skills and power tonight against a solid fighter in Arroyo (18-3, 8 KO), a former super flyweight titleholder who just couldn’t deal with the power of the Mexican southpaw.

The 24-year-old Nery put Arroyo down in the second round, and almost had him down again that round, but Arroyo was essentially held up by the ropes. Nery scored another knockdown in the third round, and two more in the fourth.

Arroyo survived the fourth round, but in his corner, his twin brother McWilliams took charge, calling a stop to things and telling McJoe that he would fight another day, that this one was simply a lost cause. It was the right call — McJoe had nothing for Nery, and it was clear by that point.

The official time of stoppage was 0:10 of round five.

“I’m happy to start on the right foot here in the United States. Arroyo was a great competitor, but we had the best tonight,” Nery said after the fight through a translator.

Asked about Joe Goossen comparing him to Manny Pacquiao, Nery said, “I’m happy for that comparison, and even happier that he’s here to see me fight.”

Nery also said he wants to get the title back that he lost on the scales in 2018, and that he hopes to do that by June.

According to CompuBox, Nery landed 87 of 257 (34%) total punches, and 57 of 129 (44%) of his power shots. Arroyo landed just 36 of 243 (15%) total punches, and 17 of 125 (145%) power shots.