By Michael Marley
A young Puerto Rican flyweight named Jonathan Gonzalez is young pro with one fight under his belt, but he must be feeling like a heavyweight right now. A standout amateur, teenager Gonzalez hooked up with Puerto Rico Best promoter Peter Rivera, and Rivera in turn hooked the 112-pounder up with Bob Arum and Top Rank.
"I just met the kid today," Arum said by phone from Bayamon. "He's a very nice kid and he said to me, 'Mr. Arum, I have two goals in my life. One, I want to become a world champion and, two, I want to see Manny Pacquiao fight in person.
"So I turned to (Top Rank VP) Carl Moretti and I said, 'Do we have a spot open for a four-rounder on the May 7 Mosley-Pacquiao show?' Carl said we do and I told the young man he can [fight] on Manny's undercard. The kid almost fainted."
Arum said Gonzalez's fascination with Pacman is something he sees often in both Mexico and Puerto Rico.
"It's a worldwide fascination now, one of the greatest Third World personal success stories ever told. In Mexico, they accept Manny like a Mexican now and down here it's the same story."
Arum added that he's hearing of prime ringside tickets for Mosley-Pacman being sold now for sky high prices of $15,000.
"This fight is a real sellout, a clean sellout, and I think it's drawing the kind of excitement that we haven't seen since De La Hoya fought Felix Trinidad."