Nunn KOs Johnson in 2:57

Michael Nunn may have outdone himself this time.

As in three of his previous four bouts, he knocked an opponent out in the first round Tuesday night. But this time, he may have notched a shutout as well as a win at The Country Club in Reseda.

Nothing I. W. Johnson of San Francisco threw before falling at 2:57 of the first round of their scheduled eight-round middleweight fight would qualify as a punch. Nunn emerged not only unbeaten, but untouched.

“He’s experienced,” Nunn said of his opponent, who entered the ring 14-7-1. “I didn’t want to expose myself to the guy. He hit me a few times, but nothing to write home about.”

Johnson has fought, among others, California middleweight champion Fred Hutchings. He said he’s had several fights that were “tougher.”

If that’s true, he’s lucky he’s alive.

Johnson was in a crouch, usually on the ropes, from the opening bell. When he finally collapsed to the canvas, it was supposedly from a straight left to the midsection, but it appeared more to be the end product of a three-minute beating.

“He confused me,” Johnson said. “I kept going to my left and he caught me. He cut my wind off.”

Said Nunn, “He absorbed a lot of punishment upstairs, then I cracked him downstairs and he caved in.”

Nunn is now 5-0, his other fight lasting four rounds before he was able to put his opponent away. Nunn amassed a 168-8 mark as an amateur and was an alternate on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. He then moved from his hometown, Davenport, Iowa, to North Hollywood where he could train in the Ten Goose Boxing organization.

He shrugged off his earlier success against admittedly less-than-top flight opposition.

“It’s less wear and tear on my body,” he said. “And the quicker it goes, the quicker I get paid.”

His next scheduled payday is June 27 when he takes on Larry Davis (8-1, seven knockouts) in Las Vegas.

And then?

“I want to move up,” Nunn said. “I’m not ready to fight Marvin Hagler (the world champion) tomorrow night, but he might be an opponent in two years. He might still be around then.”

In a preliminary bout Tuesday, Erik Goossen (4-0-1) of North Hollywood won a unanimous, four-round, lightweight bout over Albert Montenegro (1-1-1) of La Puente.

Bantamweight Jorge Rodriques of Temple City boosted his unbeaten record to 4-0 when he took a split decision from Manny Olivas of North Hollywood. Olivas’ record dropped to 1-1. Olivas was dropped in both the first and third rounds of the four-rounder, but one card scored the fight even at 38-38.

Jon Russell of North Hollywood is now 5-0 after winning an unanimous decision in his five-round fight against Mexico’s Martin Lujan (1-3).

In a crowd chaser after the main event, Fidel Briceno won a unanimous decision in his first professional fight, beating Nabor Saucedo (2-2) of Los Angeles in a four-round junior featherweight bout.