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Gonzalez Tops Delisle To Become IBF #2 Contender
In the main event of Goosen-Tutor promotion’s Thursday night Fight Night At The Tank at the HP Pavilion in San Jose California, IBF # 5 ranked light heavyweight Julio Gonzalez, 39-3 (29), elevated himself to IBF #2 contender status by scoring a unanimous decision over Australian challenger Jason Delisle, 18-3-2 (9).
Delisle looked good in the early going, landing the first big punch of the fight, a lunging lead left hook in the first minute of the second round. Delisle, who lost to light heavyweight contender Clinton Woods in October 2003, was getting the better of Gonzalez early, pressing forward relentlessly, avoiding the Californian’s early hooks and landing a high number of his punches on the inside. Gonzalez fought fairly conservative for the first few rounds, rarely varying his combos and opting to throw the jab-straight combination for the first three rounds.
Gonzalez eventually got on track and took control of the fight in round four, when he connected with a lead left uppercut in the opening seconds of the round. Gonzalez then employed a strategy of counterpunching and started working the body. Delisle, 34 years old, had no answer to Gonzalez’s new approach to the fight, and was rocked for the first time in the contest at the closing of round five, when Gonzalez landed a straight right hand with his back against the ropes.
However, Delisle wouldn’t stay beat for long, his stamina was well intact through round nine, when he landed a lunging lead left hook that rocked Gonzalez and forced the former WBO Champion to fight defensively the rest of the round. Delisle’s straight ahead attacks and relentless work on the inside, along with Gonzalez’s willingness to trade kept the man from Down Under in the fight the entire way through but Delisle was never given the opportunity to take control of the fight.
The action climaxed in the closing ten seconds, when both fighters were able to land a series of hooks, both swinging until the closing bell. Despite a valiant effort put on by the Aussie, Delisle was ultimately unsuccessful and fell well short of a victory. Gonzalez however re-asserted himself as a light heavyweight contender.
The victory places Julio Gonzalez in the finals of the IBF Light Heavyweight Eliminator tournament, along with Glenn Johnson, 43-10-2 (29). Johnson, whom Gonzalez decisioned in January 2003, recently defeated George Khalid Jones on September 30th.
In the evening’s semi-main event, 6 foot 4 heavyweight prospect, Raphael Butler, 15-2 (11) was knocked down three times in the second round by former NFL player John Clark, 12-7-1 (11) in what was a major setback for the young Minnesota native.
Butler had a good first round, where he beat Clark to the punch in almost all their exchanges and scored with his left hook. In the second round however, Clark landed a lunging straight right hand to Butler’s jaw that downed the opponent. Butler never fully recovered and was hit two more times with the same punch before the referee stopped the fight. John Clark was awarded a second round technical knockout.
Making his pro debut on the Thursday night card was Francisco Santana, 1-0 (1), who overwhelmed Alex Ramirez, 0-2 (0), with a barrage of hooks and won his professional debut by means of an impressive first round stoppage.
Overall, it was a good night of boxing in 2005’s last installment of the Fight Night At The Tank series.
