Give Naim Nelson credit, the 26-year-old lightweight never gave up in a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Alejandro Luna.
Stepping into the co-main event on 24 hours’ notice–Luna’s original opponent, Stephen Ormond, missed weight by a ludicrous 11 pounds–Nelson provided durability and heart against Luna.
The 24-year-old Luna had little trouble at range against Nelson, improving to 21-0 with superior footwork and punch accuracy. Luna, whose most recent victory entering Friday came against 33-7 Alan Herrera, may have fought down to his competition at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Nelson, whose other professional loss came to Mickey Bey, was content to counter-punch and defend throughout later rounds; often resulting in spells of inactivity. Though Nelson sustained a deep cut to the forehead, Luna never appeared close to a stoppage.
The future appears bright for Luna, who’s earned 20 career victories in the state of California. Through no fault of his own, he received a less-experienced, short notice opponent on ESPN. Hopefully, he’ll receive quality opposition in his next bout.
Alejandro Luna defeats late replacement Naim Nelson. Nelson was game but Luna remains undefeated. #Boxing #PBConESPN pic.twitter.com/5dydEeB903
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) August 6, 2016
