Gonzales Stamps Himself as a Legitimate Prospect

By Mario Ortega Jr.(ringside)

Thursday night at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, California, power-punching middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales, fighting on short notice as a light heavyweight, scored an impressive knockout victory over tough-as-nails Billy Bailey to headline a five-bout card.

Gonzales (5-0, 5 KOs) of Sacramento began the fight on his toes, boxing well. Bailey (7-2, 2 KOs) of Bakersfield, California did catch Gonzales a couple times in the first, but appeared to have trouble dealing with his opponent’s movement. Bailey, 173 ½, had a solid second round, before getting caught late with a well placed uppercut. Gonzales, 176, edged the third round, but slowed a bit in rounds four and five. Bailey seemed to take those two rounds by outworking Gonzales, making the sixth and final round very important.

Gonzales came out quick for the sixth like he knew the fight was on the table. Bailey seemed to be caught a little off guard by the Gonzales’ aggressive start, and was quickly dropped. As soon as Bailey rose to his feet, Gonzales came right at him with a relentless series of hooks. Bailey was dropped a second time, falling back into his corner, prompting referee Dan Stell to stop the fight at 40 seconds of the sixth.

With the stirring knockout performance, over a solid opponent in Bailey, Gonzales has to be considered a legitimate prospect. Making his showing even more impressive, Gonzales had just over 24 hours notice for the fight. Bailey’s originally scheduled opponent was a no-show at the weigh-in on Wednesday night. Gonzales got the call and accepted the light heavyweight bout with Bailey. Gonzales normally fights at 160 pounds.

Alex Viramontes (9-5, 3 KOs) of Riverside, California scored a six-round unanimous decision over Carlos Musquez (3-3-2, 3 KOs) of Sacramento in a battle of better-than-their-records welterweights. Viramontes, 144, was just a bit busier and likely the harder puncher. Musquez, 146, was in the fight every round of what was a rough, inside battle. Scores read 59-55 and 58-56 twice for Viramontes. 15rounds.com scored the bout 58-57 for Viramontes. Both rugged fighters were victims of controversial scoring their last time out.

Crowd favorite Sacramento lightweight prospect Stan Martyniouk (4-0, 1 KO) completely dominated Terrance Jett (3-11-2, 1 KO) of Las Vegas, Nevada over four rounds to score a unanimous decision. Martyniouk, 133, was the busier and stronger fighter, clearly winning every round. Jett, 135, seemed in danger of being stopped in the third. Martyniouk rocked him with a straight left, followed by a right hook. With Jett stunned, Martyniouk landed a hellacious series of hooks along the ropes. Martyniouk closed out the fourth in much the same fashion, taking every round on the judges’ scorecards with scores of 40-36.

Geraldo Lopez (1-0, 1 KO) of Vacaville, California scored a quick first-round knockout of Glendale, California-based Armenian Artur Galstyan (0-3) in a scheduled four-round welterweight fight. Lopez, 146 ½, came out determined and dropped Galstyan, 148, a straight right hand. It was clear Galstyan could not continue, and the bout was stopped just 55 seconds in.

Maximilliano Becerra (0-0-1) of Vacaville appeared to do enough to win his pro debut, but had to settle for a majority draw with Andres Reyes (1-1-1) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round lightweight fight. Becerra, 133, did start the fight a bit tentative and likely lost the first round. Reyes, 134, was cut by a headbutt in the second, which seemed to clearly affect his performance the rest of the bout. Becerra rocked Reyes several times in both the third and fourth rounds. Late in the fourth Reyes was stunned by a left hook, which Becerra followed up a vicious flurry, and appeared on his way out. The bell came to Reyes’ rescue and the fight went to the cards. Becerra had a 39-37 edge on one card, which was overruled by two scores of 38-38. 15rounds.com scored the bout 39-37.

Jeff Berger of the Red Lion Hotel plans to continue the Red Lion Fight Night series on about a bi-monthly basis for the good of the sport in Sacramento. The next Red Lion Fight Night, promoted by Uppercut Promotions, will take place in September or November.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com