Sugar Nunez Dominates Masanori Rikiishi For IBF Title Win

The Yokohama Buntai arena in Japan pulsed with tension on May 28, 2025, as Mexico’s Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez faced off against hometown favourite Masanori Rikiishi for the vacant IBF super featherweight title.

Nunez, entering with a record of 27-1 (27 KOs), was a knockout machine, his perfect stoppage rate a testament to his relentless pressure and devastating hooks. Rikiishi, a 16-1 (11 KOs) southpaw from Yokohama, brought a contrasting style, rangy, elusive, and buoyed by a partisan crowd of 5,000. The atmosphere crackled with anticipation, heightened by the co-main event featuring Yoshiki Takei’s WBO bantamweight title defence against Yuttapong Tongdee. For Nunez, the fight was a long-awaited chance to claim a world title after Anthony Cacace vacated the belt to pursue a bout with Leigh Wood. Rikiishi, riding a 14-fight win streak capped by a dramatic stoppage of Michael Magnesi in Italy, aimed to seize the moment on home soil. The stakes were immense: a world title and a chance to shine on DAZN’s global stage.

From the opening bell, Nunez’s aggression set the tone. The 27-year-old Mexican, shorter at 5’6” with a 68-inch reach, stalked Rikiishi, leveraging his compact frame to close distance and target the body, a tactic key to his game plan. Rikiishi, towering at 5’9½” with a 71½-inch reach, used his height and southpaw jab to keep Nunez at bay, circling the ring and landing sharp counters. The first round was cautious, with both fighters probing. Nunez landed tentative body shots, while Rikiishi responded with a crisp jab that split the guard. CompuBox stats suggest a low-output opener, with Rikiishi’s movement giving him a slight edge. The crowd, sensing their man’s control, roared as Rikiishi’s uppercuts flashed, but Nunez’s relentless forward march hinted at the pressure to come, his back muscles rippling with every swing, a visual cue of his power.

The second and third rounds saw Nunez’s strategy take hold. A vicious right hand in the second staggered Rikiishi, who stumbled backwards, his defensive footwork tested. Nunez’s body-head combinations began to land with authority, his hooks wrapping around Rikiishi’s guard. The Japanese co-challenger, undeterred, fired back with cuffing hooks and a right uppercut that missed narrowly, prompting brief cheers from the Yokohama faithful. By the fourth, Nunez’s pressure intensified, his two-punch salvos—left to the body, right to the head, making Rikiishi visibly uncomfortable. The Japanese fighter’s counters, while sharp, lacked the volume to deter Nunez, who absorbed a stiff flurry in the fifth but responded with a brutal uppercut. The crowd’s energy surged, urging Rikiishi to rally, but Nunez’s relentless pace began to chip away at the taller man’s base, setting the stage for a gruelling second half.

The middle rounds turned into a war of attrition, with Nunez’s pressure overwhelming Rikiishi’s technical finesse. In the sixth, Rikiishi’s bodywork briefly slowed Nunez, his sharp intake of breath audible as he weathered shots against the ropes. But Nunez’s varied attacks—body, then head, then back again—kept Rikiishi defensive, unable to pivot away cleanly. The seventh saw Rikiishi land a rare combination, his overhand right drawing gasps, but Nunez’s response was ferocious, his hooks landing unanswered.

The eighth round brought a moment of drama when Nunez stumbled, not from a clean shot but a loss of footing, rousing the crowd. Rikiishi’s spirited flurries in the ninth showed his heart, but Nunez’s engine and power were unrelenting, his body shots sapping Rikiishi’s mobility.

The championship rounds cemented Nunez’s victory. Rikiishi, now trailing, fought valiantly, landing a stinging uppercut in the twelfth that briefly rocked Nunez. Yet Nunez’s pressure never wavered, his combinations piling up points. The final bell sounded to a roaring crowd, split between admiration for Rikiishi’s grit and awe at Nunez’s dominance.

Judges scored it 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111 for Nunez, resulting in a unanimous decision that crowned him the new IBF super featherweight champion, bringing his record to 28-1 (27 KOs). Rikiishi, now 16-2 (11 KOs), earned respect for surviving Nunez’s power, his team offering no complaints. “I don’t care about Nunez’s high KO ratio; I believe in my victory,” Rikiishi had said pre-fight, but Nunez’s relentless pressure proved too much. “This is my time,” Nunez declared post-fight, eyeing a potential clash with Anthony Cacace.

The fight’s aftermath underscored its significance. Nunez’s victory on hostile ground solidified his status as a Mexican star, with promoter Eddie Hearn touting him as the next big thing.

The Yokohama Buntai, a modern 5,000-seat venue, provided a fitting stage, its atmosphere electric as fans rallied behind their hometown hero. The event, part of a doubleheader with Takei’s first-round TKO, showcased Japan’s growing boxing prominence.

Nunez’s win opens doors to high-profile fights, with Hearn eyeing Cacace or Raymond Ford. For boxing fans, the night was a reminder of the sport’s global reach, with Nunez’s pressure and Rikiishi’s heart delivering a clash that, although not a knockout, resonated as a brutal yet beautiful testament to the sweet science.