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Very few gave Jhonny Gonzales a chance against WBC featherweight champion Abner Mares but the Mexico City gunslinger upset the odds with a vicious first round destruction last night at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA.
Mares had won three world titles in as many weight classes, going 6-0-1 in championship bouts since 2010, but the Los Angeles area man’s luck ran out last night as he walked into a perfectly timed left hook from a hammer-fisted veteran.
Gonzalez, 55-8 (47), regains his old WBC 126 pound belt to go along with his WBO bantam strap, and breathes new life into a career many had judged to be over once he signed the contract to challenge Mares, 26-1-1 (14).
Two advantages Gonzalez took into the ring last evening, heavy punching power and Mares’ former trainer Nacho Beristain, proved to be an unbeatable combination.
After a feeling out period during the first half of round one, Gonzalez landed a night right, prompting Mares to respond in kind. The champion began to open up with his somewhat wide swinging style, opening the door for Gonzalez to step in with a left hook at the end of a long stride.
The punch caught Mares fully flush on the chin and he went down in a daze. The Guadalajara born champ bravely got to his feet and attempted to fight off the follow up assault of Gonzalez.
But the veteran knows how to finish off wounded prey and clipped Mares with an assortment of head shots until he was down again, prompting referee Jack Reiss to wave things off at 2:55 of the first frame.
Gonzalez could be in for a very big unification against WBO champ Mikey Garcia this coming November and again, he would likely go into that as the underdog.
But one who can really, really punch.
Also at the StubHub Center, former IBF bantam boss Leo Santa Cruz, 25-0-1 (15), became a two-weight champion by outclassing WBC super bantam belt holder Victor Terrazas, 37-3-1 (21).
Santa Cruz dominated from the first bell, dropping Terrazas twice in the third before it was waved off at 2:09 of that round.
The natural progression for Santa Cruz would be a unification contest with masterful Cuban southpaw and WBO/WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Rigondeaux, coming off an impressive win over the top man at 122 pounds, WBA champ Nonito Donaire, would be a very difficult opponent for Santa Cruz, who thus far hasn’t faced anyone nearly as accomplished.
