By James Blears

Newly crowned WBC featherweight champ Jhonny Gonzalez has a voluntary first defense in which he wants to fight a compatriot… with Rafael Marquez at top of that list.

The modest likeable Jhonny was accompanied by Dad Miguel Angel, but not Nacho Beristain, who was in his corner on fight night and guided him during his preparations. Son and Father came to the World Boxing Council offices in the Zona Rosa, Mexico City. It was packed to the rafters with national press, who thunderously applauded when the quiet and polite KO artist, who belies his years, was presented with the Green and gold belt by WBC President Jose Sulaiman.

Jhonny explained he’d trained for four hard highly motivated months, to be ready for his fight against Hozumi Hasegawa in Kobe Japan, and he took full advantage of the opportunity. This involved a new gym, where he trained to tighten his sometime leaky defense. The Romanza/Gilberto Roman gym from which Beristain moulds and crafts champions, worked like a tonic, for Jhonny’s last chance shot at the title.   

And Jhonny revealed that he wants to be a busy champion fighting his first defense in June in July, in the beautiful South Eastern State of Campeche. And he also said he wants to go for the Super Featherweight title, sometime next year. 

Talking about that dynamite right which wrapped up the show in the fourth, Jhonny said: “The majority of my fights are knockouts. We practiced really hard in the gym to achieve this particular one. I hit him with all my power with my right hand. He bravely managed to get up, but his legs didn’t respond well, once he was back on his feet.”

And as for forthcoming opponents Jhonny only had to think for a fraction to respond: “Rafael Marquez, Guty Espadas or Israel Vazquez.”