By Jake Donovan

He had two knockdowns banked in the opening round and was well on his way to the biggest upset of 2015, as well as the biggest win of his own career. 

An unfortunate thing happened to Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. after that. A damaged right hand disrupted the remainder of his performance, allowing unbeaten Carl 'The Jackal' Frampton back into the fight. In the bling of an eye, the second-generation boxer was on pace to follow directly in his father's footsteps, right down to knocking off an unbeaten champion in a title fight in Texas. 

Alas, Gonzalez Jr. was forced to settle for a 'valiant-in-defeat' decision loss in their CBS-televised headliner this past July. It wasn't quite the same as his father, Alejandro Sr. punching a then-unbeaten Kevin Kelley into blinded submission after 10 rounds of their featherweight title fight war some 20 years ago in San Antonio, but enough to earn the rising contender industry-wide respect.

Four months later, he seeks more than just a good performance heading into his 10-round showdown versus Karim Guerfi tonight in Austin, Texas.

"I knew I had him hurt and that I coud knock him out," the 22-year old boxer from Tijuana, Mexico told BoxingScene.com in a recent interview. "When I messed up my right hand, I knew I missed my chance, but overall I was pleased with my performance." 

The bout was Gonzalez' fourth straight at super bantamweight or higher. He has since decided to return to the bantamweight divison, where tonight's main event takes place in headlining the latest installment of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Fox Sports 1. 

With his hand healed and back at his optimal fighting weight, he likes his chances of leaving a much more favorable impression on the boxing public. 

"I feel good back at 118 lbs.," Gonzalez Jr. insists. "This is my weight and I will be back to being at my best. I know Guerfi is a great boxer and I am ready for that challenge. 

"With a win, I hope that I can get another title shot. I will fight any of those guys (Juan Carlos Payano, Shinsuke Yamanaka, Jamie McDonnell and Randy Caballero were the future options mentioned - Gonzalez refused to call any out by name). I don't have any one opponent in mind, I just want to fight the best."

A rematch with Frampton would be out of the picture as the unbeaten champ from Northern Ireland braces for a long-awaited grudge match with Scott Quigg. It's just as well as nothing about a sequel suited Gonzalez' immediate needs. 

"To be honest, Frampton is a friend of mine now," Gonzalez said, laughing of the thought of a rematch under such circumstances. "If he wanted to give me a rematch of course I'd go back to 122. For now, 118 is my weight."  

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox