Luis Nery and the punching panthers

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Luis Nery

Amanda Westcott/Showtime

Luis Nery, who fights Brandon Figueroa tonight (May 15), is far from the only ‘Panther’ in boxing

1. HARRY WILLS (BLACK PANTHER)

One of the very best heavyweights of his era and a bona fide all-time great, Wills was a high-profile victim of boxing’s shameful colour bar, which prevented him from deservedly challenging for the world championship.

2. AMADO URSUA (LITTLE PANTHER)

His 34-21 record may not look particularly gleaming on paper, but Ursua boasts a stunning knockout victory over Hall of Famer Hilario Zapata on his ledger, which saw him claim the WBC light-flyweight title.

3. JUAN CARLOS GOMEZ (BLACK PANTHER)

A skilled southpaw and powerful puncher, Gomez racked up 10 successful defences during a four-year reign as the WBC cruiserweight titlist. He then moved up to heavyweight and unsuccessfully challenged Vitali Klitschko.

4. LUIS NERY (PANTHER)

An aggressive power-punching portsider, Nery is currently one of the world’s top super-bantamweights. A previous WBC bantamweight belt-holder, he is presently in possession of the WBC super-bantam strap.

5. LOVEMORE NDOU (BLACK PANTHER)

Beaten 13 times but never inside the distance, the teak-tough Ndou can name Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez among his list of opponents. He is a former owner of the IBF super-lightweight title.

6. ERICA FARIAS (PANTHER)

Farias, an ex-WBC female lightweight and super-lightweight title-holder, has only ever lost when up against quality opposition in the shape of Delfine Persoon, Cecilia Braekhus and Jessica McCaskill (twice) – all on points.  

7. OMAR FIGUEROA JNR (LITTLE PANTHER)

Prior to losing his two most recent bouts, Figueroa had been unbeaten in almost 30 fights. A former WBC lightweight titlist, he holds wins over Ricky Burns, Antonio DeMarco and Robert Guerrero.    

8. HERMANN NGOUDJO (BLACK PANTHER)

A career super-lightweight who was in the mix at the upper end of the division, Ngoudjo got the better of Randall Bailey and Souleymane M’baye. His four losses all came via decision and he always gave a good account of himself.   

9. EDISON MIRANDA (PANTHER)

An exciting banger who enjoyed his most fruitful spell of form as a middleweight, Miranda engaged in memorable battles at 160lbs with Howard Eastman, Arthur Abraham, Allan Green and Kelly Pavlik.

10. MARIBEL RAMIREZ (PANTHER)

Following a demoralising run of just three victories in 13 outings, Ramirez rebounded to record four straight wins, two of which came in WBA female super-flyweight title contests – both on away turf.

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