By Jake Donovan
With all of Mexico - including Televisa - pulling for him, Jhonny Gonzalez managed to rediscover the win column, outpointing Japan's Hurricane Futa over 12 rounds Saturday evening in Los Mochis, Mexico.
A tagline of #VoyConJhonny ("Go With Jhonny") accompanied the broadcast and even the judges seemed in on the act. Gonzalez deserved to win the fight, but the scores ranged from respectable (119-112) to questionable (119-109) to laughable (119-104).
The fight lacked the usual zip that can be found whenever Gonzalez enters the ring. Yet with two losses in his last three fights, winning was far more essential than providing his normal entertainment value.
Saturday's clash was the first for the former two-division champ since dropping a majority decision to Jonathan Oquendo in a major upset this past September. Oquendo wound up facing Jesus Cuellar earlier this evening, dropping a 12-round decision in their featherweight title fight in Brooklyn, New York.
Gonzalez could very well land another title shot of his own, but it would come through the sport's politics more so than merit. The win gives the 34-year a much needed high note on which to close out an otherwise forgettable year. It began with a knockout loss to Gary Russell this past March in Las Vegas, thus ending his second tour as a featherweight titlist.
The loss to Oquendo came six weeks after a stay-busy win over Kazuki Hashimoto in August. For the second time in 2015, Gonzalez followed up a loss in Las Vegas with a win over a fighter from Japan as he advances to 59-10 (49KOs).
Futa comes up well short in his first career fight outside of Asia, falling to 20-6-1 (11KOs). One moral victory for the 28-year old comes in the form of his lasting all 12 rounds, thus extending his run of having never been dropped or stopped in his pro career.
The evening's main event aired live on Televisa as part of the network's Sabados de Box series.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
