Atif Oberlton has new foe for May 9: Carlos Gongora

Light heavyweight prospect Atif Oberlton will take on late-replacement opponent Carlos Gongora in his May 9 bout in Atlanta, Georgia, according to a press release from Salita Promotions.

Oberlton, 15-0 (13 KOs), was originally scheduled to face Steven Sumpter in the co-feature bout underneath Angelo Leo’s featherweight title defense against Ra’eese Aleem on DAZN. The press release did not indicate why Sumpter is out of the bout. 

Sumpter, 11-2-1 (9 KOs), is a 32-year-old from Massachusetts who has fought at both super middleweight and light heavyweight. Sumpter’s two defeats came against unbeaten prospects. He was unanimously outpointed by Najee Lopez in 2024 and, in his most recent outing, was stopped by Bek Nurmaganbet last September.

Gongora, 22-3 (17 KOs), is a 36-year-old from Ecuador. His biggest win came in a come-from-behind 12th-round knockout of the previously unbeaten Ali Akhmedov in 2020. That was followed by Gongora knocking out the 17-2 Christopher Pearson in the eighth round in 2021.

Gongora has gone 2-3 since then. He dropped a split decision to Lerrone Richards in 2021, was unanimously outpointed by Christian Mbilli in 2023 and, in his most recent outing, was nearly shut out by Lester Martinez in June 2024. 

That means Gongora will not only be moving up from super middleweight to face Oberlton, but he will also be returning from a nearly two-year layoff – and taking on a highly touted prospect on extremely short notice.

“I got full respect for him and what he’s accomplished,” Oberlton said of Gongora in the press release. “But my confidence is in my work and what we’ve been doing in camp with my coach. We treat every opponent the same, like a real threat, and we prepare the same way every time. [...] At the end of the day, he’s just another body in the way of me and a world title.”

Oberlton, a 27-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last fought on February 22 in Detroit, defeating the 13-1 Joseph George via TKO. The bout was stopped after George collapsed in his corner following the first round.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.