Nunn Is Too Much for Curry

Michael Nunn invited Donald Curry to show he had the punching power of a middleweight. Curry failed. Nunn proved his point and kept his title Thursday night.

Curry, who won titles as a welterweight and a junior-middleweight, was on target often enough but didn’t have the power to nail the champion, who has always been a middleweight.

“He never hurt me, but he gave me good shots,” Nunn said after his 10th-round knockout of Curry. “I was testing his strength, seeing how strong he was. He was moving up and he deserved the opportunity to try and he got it, and I beat up on him.

“I was just too big for him. He fought his way to number one, and naturally with him movingup, I was bigger and stronger.”

Nunn overpowered Curry with 15 consecutive punches in the 10th round that floored the challenger, and referee Denny Nelson ended the fight.

The champion retained his International Boxing Federation title and remained undefeated as a professional.

Nunn cut Curry in the second round and floored him in the seventh.

Nunn hopes he has won back the U.S. promoters who turned their backs on him after two sluggish performances.

About 13,800 fans roared their approval of Nunn’s performance, in which he showed a variety of punching skills, some fancy footwork and some touches of humor.

Nunn, 27, of Davenport, Iowa, who now lives in Agoura Hills, won the title from Frank Tate two years ago. He is unbeaten in 36 fights.

Curry, 29, of Ft. Worth, is 33-4-0.

Outreached by five inches and two inches shorter than the 6-foot-1 champion, Curry tried working low in the first round, when the left-handed Nunn was jeered for a low blow.

In the second, Nunn stung Curry with a fast combination and opened a cut high on the challenger’s forehead. Curry never was bothered by the cut, but he found it hard to deal with Nunn’s variety of punches.

Curry was forced into going forward by Nunn’s dancing, counter-attacking style, and the fighters drew applause midway through the third after a sustained flurry of punches.

Curry, one pound lighter than Nunn, landed two crisp rights in Round 4, but they did not appear to worry the champion.

Nunn, advised by Angelo Dundee, smiled at Aktar Muhammad, Curry’s business adviser, who taunted the champion with shouts of “Run, Michael, Run.”

He rolled his stomach muscles in bodybuilder fashion when Curry caught him on the ropes, and Nunn even tried to help the challenger to his feet after Curry slipped to the canvas in Round 2.

In the seventh, Nunn chased Curry into the challenger’s corner, and a cluster of punches dropped him to his knees. He was up at the count of three and continued to push forward. But by the ninth, Curry was tiring fast.

Now it was Nunn’s turn to go forward, and he repeatedly hit the challenger’s face with long right jabs and follow-up lefts.

In the 10th, he had Curry retreating into his corner. Nunn did not let him leave. He directed punch after punch at the challenger’s head until Curry crumbled onto his knees again. This time, Nelson called the fight.