Nearly eleven months after delivering the worst performance of his pro career, Joet Gonzalez has a clear shot at redemption.
The Los Angeles-based featherweight contender is set for a scheduled 10-round bout versus Colombia’s Miguel Marriaga (29-3, 25KOs) in a pairing of former 126-pound title challengers. The two will meet this Saturday, live on ESPN+ from the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, with the winner to secure another crack at the featherweight title.
Marriaga enters riding a four-fight win streak since a 7th round stoppage loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko for his third career title fight. Gonzalez has been forced to sit on his lone career loss—a lopsided 12-round defeat to Shakur Stevenson (14-0, 8KOs) in their vacant title fight—since last October, though the second chance opportunity he had in mind was delivering something more memorable to home viewers.
"I know I owe the fans a better fight than my last performance,” Gonzalez (23-1, 14KOs) told BoxingScene.com. “I’m always prepared to fight and I just have to go in there and treat Miguel Marriaga like this is my championship.
“My plan is to go in there on Saturday night, give the fans a great fight and show everyone that I’m ready for the best featherweights in the world.”
A win over Marriaga—particularly one in convincing fashion—will certainly keep him in the conversation. All three career losses for the 33-year old Colombian knockout artist have come at the title stage. Marriaga came up short in a June 2015 title bid versus Nicholas Walters, who blew weight and vacated the belt at the scale. Five wins later came a second shot, only to drop a 12-round defeat to unbeaten Oscar Valdez. From there came an ill-advised move to 130 pounds, where he was manhandled by Vasiliy Lomachenko in their August 2017 title fight.
Marriaga has since rebounded with four victories and now in the same boat as Gonzalez, leaving the winner first in line for whomever prevails in the vacant title fight between Emanuel Navarrete (32-1, 28KOs) and Ruben Villa (18-0, 5KOs) which takes place October 9 in this very venue.
With that fight another four weeks away and a shot at the winner to likely not take place until the first quarter of 2021, it’s all far too down the line for Gonzalez.
“To be honest, I don’t pay attention to what’s at stake,” admits Gonzalez, who turns 27 in October. “They mentioned it to me, that if I win my next fight could be for the title.
“But all of my focus is on Marriaga and getting that win. “Once I win on Saturday, then I can focus on that.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
