By Jake Donovan

In what we can only hope to become a growing trend, youth was served for a change in the light heavyweight division as undefeated Tavoris Cloud exploded onto the scene with a 10th round stoppage of faded former linear light heavyweight champion Julio Cesar Gonzalez.

The bout headlined ESPN2's Friday Night Fight's telecast, which aired live from the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL.

The fight represented a huge step up in class for Cloud, but didn't prevent the chiseled Tallahassee (FL) native from starting out the same way as any of his previous bouts – full steam ahead, making his opponent feel his pain. Cloud took the fight right to Gonzalez, turning the fight into a high-volume affair less than a minute in.

A right hand midway through the round drew a collective "ooh" from the rabid crowd on hand at the Aragon Ballroom. Gonzalez was able to play matador defense, forcing Cloud to expend energy as he was missing with his power shots. But very little was coming back in return, as was also the case in the second round.

The third round was fought in a phone booth, with both fighters standing and trading in center ring. Gonzalez was looking for any opening to turn the tide, but Cloud always had an answer. When the action drifted toward the ropes, Cloud kept just enough distance to avoid Gonzalez' looping shots while nailing him with jabs and arcing right hands.

Back to close quarters they went in the fourth. Gonzalez was able to land to the body for the first time in the fight, but never able to put together a sustained attack. Cloud slowed down just a bit after throwing a high volume of punches through the first three, but was still swinging from the bleachers whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The fifth round appeared to be the beginning of the end for the former linear light heavyweight champion, though he showed an inhuman level of resiliency.

Cloud erupted midway through the round, a left hook to the body momentarily freezing Gonzalez in place to set up a left hook upstairs that put him on queer street. Cloud spent the rest of the round in pursuit, landing several right hands and left hooks upstairs. Gonzalez miraculously survived the round, but was slow in walking back to his corner.

That Gonzalez made it out of the round meant Cloud would enter uncharted territory in the sixth, the first time in his pro career that he was forced to go that deep in the fight.

This was the point in the fight where Gonzalez' greater experience was supposed to prove beneficial, but all it allowed him to do was absorb more punishment. Cloud was once again successful with left hooks and right hands upstairs. Gonzalez never wilted, but he also never fought back, forcing referee John O'Brien to give a long hard look with every landed punch.

With the first half of the fight fought at a furious – albeit one-sided – pace, things slowed down considerably in rounds seven and eight. Despite taking a massive beating in the fifth and sixth rounds, Gonzalez was still in front of Cloud looking for a fight. Cloud instead took it down a notch, keeping the fight at close quarters but not letting his hands go as often.

Round nine saw Tavoris Cloud the boxer, which didn't go over very well with a Chicago crowd that always expects guerrilla warfare whenever the light heavyweight steps foot in the ring. Little did they know he was saving up for a big finish.

Cloud went back to the advertised bombs away slugger in the 10th round, one that could very well represent Gonzalez' last at the contender level. The action wasn't as furious as in the early going, but steady and still heavily in Cloud's favor. A right hand midway through the round had Gonzalez hurt and trapped along the ropes. Cloud followed up with an overhand right that sent Gonzalez staggering into the corner. One final booming right was enough for referee John O'Brien to intervene.

The official time was 2:50 of round ten.

Claiming it to be the biggest win of Cloud's career is merely overstating the obvious. The 26-year old power puncher cruises to 19-0 (18KO) with the win, scoring his 13th straight knockout in the process.

The win puts Cloud in position to possibly challenge the winner of the upcoming highly anticipated light heavyweight clash between Antonio Tarver and undefeated Chad Dawson later this fall. In theory, tonight's fight was an eliminator, but Dawson dumped a title in order to secure the long awaited showdown with Tarver; there's nothing preventing the winner of this fight from doing the same - especially now well aware of what awaits.

Regardless, Cloud will be fighting for a title one way or another sometime in 2009. Given how wide open the light heavyweight division has been for years, his explosive arrival into the title picture couldn't have come at a better time. With most of the top light heavyweight players aged 35 years or older, Cloud offers a glimmer of hope that a division far too long clinging onto the past can now confidently look toward the future.

Such is not the case for Gonzalez, who suffers the first stoppage loss in his 11-year, 47-fight career. The hardened Mexican drops his third straight in falling to 41-6 (25KO). It was only five years ago that Gonzalez served as the linear light heavyweight champion after his upset of previously unbeaten Dariusz Michalczewski, but it seems like forever. He has since went 6-4, with all four losses coming in title fights or elimination bouts.

The Friday Night Fights co-feature hardly made an impression on its own, and even less so in comparison, as Carlos Molina took an eight round decision over Donald Camerana in their eight round junior welterweight contest.

There was plenty of contact in the affair, but the bout never seemed to shift gears. Camerana would land an occasional sneak left from the southpaw stance, but was unable to keep up with Molina's workrate for the most part.

Scores were 78-74 and 79-73 (2x) in favor of the hometown Molina, who wins his fourth straight in improving to 12-4-1 (4KO).

Camerana falls to 19-5 (9KO), losing for the third time in his past four fights.

The show was presented by 8 Count Productions.

Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com