By Jake Donovan
Former bantamweight title challenger William Gonzalez kept alive his hopes for another crack at alphabet glory with a second round knockout of Jose Luis Araiza at the Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort and Casino on Friday evening.
The bout served as the televised main event for the latest installment of “Boxeo Telemundo.”
It was never a question of “if”, but “when Gonzalez would get the job in this tune-up bout. The lanky Nicaraguan banger nearly ended the fight with the very first punch thrown, rocking Araiza with a left hand seconds into the bout.
Things never got better for the fringe contender, whose glossy record far exceeded his actual ability. Gonzalez remained in control of the brief affair, once against stunning Araiza late in the round with right hook.
Gonzalez stepped up his game in round two, with his punching power advancing from hurting Araiza to putting him on his seat. A left uppercut floored the Mexican early in the second for the first of two knockdowns in the bout.
Though he beat the count, Araiza never truly recovered. Gonzalez sensed blood in the water, and went in for the kill. A perfectly placed uppercut was enough to produce another knockdown, this time with enough force to convince referee Tommy Kimmons that there wasn’t a need for any more punches to be thrown.
The official time was 1:00 of round two.
Gonzalez has now won four straight as he advances to 25-3 (21KO). His last loss came in a heartbreaker against then-champion Joseph Agbeko in a fantastic bantamweight war in December 2008.
Araiza falls to 27-2 (18KO), losing for the first time since his pro debut 12 years ago.
The good news for Gonzalez is that he will get another chance to prove himself at the top level, after having coming up short whenever stepping up in class.
This bout was an alphabet eliminator, with the winner next in line to face Fernando Montiel, who earlier in the day racked up a career defining win with a fourth round knockout of Hozumi Hasagewa. The upset win allowed him to become the first fighter in nearly 40 years to serve as a unified bantamweight champion.
With his own knockout on Friday night, Gonzalez puts himself in a position to add his name to the very short list of unified titlists, though it will take a greater effort than has been given in past notable bouts.
Aside from the aforementioned title shot against Agbeko, Gonzalez is best known for his three-round war with Jhonny Gonzalez (no relation) a few years ago on the now defunct Boxeo de Oro series on HBO Latino. Both fighters traded knockdowns before “El Chirizo” wilted, suffering his second stoppage defeat of his career.
In other televised action, Miami-based middleweight prospect Michael Oliveira remained unbeaten with a fourth-round stoppage of journeyman Jessie Davis.
The first two rounds were all action, with Oliveira genuinely stunned a couple of times before taking over the fight for good midway through the second. Davis was game, but in way over his head, as Oliveira couldn’t miss with his left uppercut. Efforts were made but no knockdowns occurred, though Davis’ own toughness proved to be his undoing.
Referee Tommy Kimmons warned Davis’ corner in between rounds three and four that he would stop the fight if their fighter didn’t show any signs of improvement. All it took was for the 4th round to begin for Oliveira to unload his arsenal, enough to convince the referee that Davis was done for the evening.
With the win, Olveira – who just turned 20 earlier this week - rolls to 12-0 (10KO). Davis falls to 11-18 with the loss, his sixth straight.
The show was presented by Felix “Tutico” Zabala and All-Star Boxing.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
