By Mario Ortega Jr. –

While wrapping up his training camp, Hancel Gonzalez suffered an injury that forced him to pull out of the scheduled eight-round Combate Space main event against veteran contender Ve Shawn Owens, which was to take place this Saturday at the Arena Ring Central in Mexico City, Mexico. 

Owens (14-3, 12 KOs) of Minneapolis, Minnesota was going to give up weight and natural size against the larger Gonzalez. Now, stepping in for the Colombian Gonzalez, will be a more natural welterweight in Heriberto Flores (10-0, 9 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. 

Preparing for Saturday’s originally scheduled bout, Owens made the sacrifices that fighters make, stunting celebrations for Thanksgiving and his son’s birthday, which both took place last week. 

“It is a sacrifice, it is,” Owens explained. “I couldn’t do everything I actually wanted to do for my son’s birthday. I couldn’t really do as much as I wanted to do for Thanksgiving. Both of those days I was training and working. That is just the thing with this career. You are going to have to make sacrifices. It is a good thing that I have a good team behind me. When I say team, I mean support system. My family really understands. When it is fight time, they understand I am going to push it. They get it. It is hard, but everyone gets what I am trying to do.”

Coming off a career-best performance in decisioning once-beaten Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in February, Owens fielded some offers in the time since, but wanted to keep this date in Mexico. 

“I’ve gotten lots of offers,” explained Owens on Friday, shortly after arriving in Mexico, but before the opponent change. “Lots and lots of offers. Some of them were a bit ridiculous. Some were actually really good, but I was already really dedicated to this one. I don’t want to back-up from my word. I made a commitment to this one.”

Another component playing a part in Owens’ ten-month layoff, and the decision take this fight, is that his long-time head trainer Sankara Frazier has been slowed by a health issue. 

“Our head coach is kind of sick and going through a few things right now and putting our careers on hold,” explains Owens. “I told him, these people and our teammate in Mexico are serious. There’s not much we can really do right now and I am not getting any younger. I am 32, so I can’t keep on waiting.”

Many of Owens’ biggest fights have been televised by Showtime. With the network concluding its long association with boxing at the end of the year, keeping Saturday’s date in Mexico has added importance. 

“This year, has been kind of tough, just being active,” says Owens. “I understand changes are going on, and Al Haymon has a few tricks up his sleeve, but he’s going to need some time. I want to stay on that hot streak, so when everything with PBC takes effect, I can get going hot.”

Owens represents a huge step up in class for Flores. In his last bout, Flores stepped up to the scheduled ten-round distance for the first time and stopped fellow unbeaten Eduardo Sanchez in nine. Prior to that win in Costa Rica, all of Flores’ bouts had come against soft opposition in Mexico. 

Regardless of the opponent change, Owens aims for the same planned result as he continues his rise in the welterweight division on Saturday night. 

“Hopefully it gets me closer to the top ten in the world,” says Owens. “As far as the future, I don’t really want to speak too much on that. I want to focus on what’s in front of me right now, so I don’t want to talk about this and that. My main objective is this guy right now.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by Producciones Deportivas and televised throughout Latin America on Space, are available at the venue. 

Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com 

By Mario Ortega Jr. –

Welterweight contender Ve Shawn Owens will return to the ring this Saturday night as he takes on Colombian Hancel Gonzalez at the Arena Ring Central in Mexico City, Mexico. The eight-round bout marks Owens’ first ring appearance since his eye-opening victory over Kudratillo Abdukakhorov on Showtime in February. 

Owens had been a familiar face in the mix from 140 to 154-pounds dating back to 2018. After coming up short against elite opposition, Owens rose to the occasion in his native Minneapolis, Minnesota and broke through with the dominant ten-round unanimous decision over Abdukakhorov. 

As Owens’ tells it, the main change that led to his sterling performance in February was mental. “Honestly, it was more of a mindshift,” says Owens. “In the beginning phases, I was really hungry to be a world champion. Then life took full blown advantage of my career. When it came to taking some fights, it was more the fact that I needed money. I needed the money and I wasn’t really serious. But this one, I felt like I could really be something. That hunger that I had in my youth is back.”

The highly touted Abdukakhorov was hoping to rebound from his lone defeat by getting past Owens in their Showtime-televised encounter. However, Owens had been eyeing the Uzbekistani native for some time.

“This guy, I watched him fight twice, and when I saw him fight, I knew I could beat him,” remembers Owens. “Then ironically, in 2021, I had a few fights that dropped and I needed a break. I had a family member that had passed. I really needed to get my life together and then I get the call to fight this guy. I looked at him and [excitedly] said set that up. I knew I could beat him and then a year later they gave me that offer. I remembered his style; how he feints, how he reacts to certain things. And it all worked.”

A self-described student of the game, Owens (14-3, 12 KOs) has taken the same approach heading into what some may see as a stay-busy bout against the unknown Hancel Gonzalez (11-2, 9 KOs). 

“I picked up on a few things, and the things I picked up are the reasons why I want to go forward with it,” says Owens. “That one fight when he got stopped, that was a big thing, because I noticed in another fight, he would get caught with that same shot, but the second guy didn’t have the strength to get him down. I noticed his feet. He’s not going to be one of those guys that move around. He’s going to sit there and be a big target for me. We all know I love big targets. I have a huge gameplan for him, as long as he can make the weight.”

Weight is one of the main stories heading into this bout, much as it has been throughout Owens’ career. After the win against Abdukakhorov, Owens’ has decided to stake his place in the 147-pound welterweight division. Having ventured up to 154 to meet the challenge of the largest junior middleweight of recent memory, Sebastian Fundora, as well as sliding down to 140 to take on current titleholder Alberto Puello, Owens is putting his yo-yo away moving forward. 

“Nothing is throwing me off,” proclaims Owens. “My A-game is here. I feel like I should have been here. I should have been staying at 147. I feel amazing at this weight class.”

Gonzalez’ relationship with the scale has seen him see action in the light heavyweight and super middleweight divisions in recent bouts. Owens and his team will be insistent that the Colombian weighs within a few pounds of the welterweight limit at Friday’s weigh-in. 

“The only thing that is of my concern is the weight thing,” explains Owens. “As long as he can make the weight. I’m giving him a few pounds, but if he can’t do that, then we can’t.”

Gonzalez, who has looked at home physically while competing in the higher weight classes, will have an audience when he steps on the scale. “My team is on it,” explains Owens. “We are going to have eyes on there. I am not doing that anymore, fighting guys out of my weight class. I am not doing that anymore. I want to prioritize my career and the avenue that I want to go. No more silly stuff. I am not doing that anymore.”

Owens, a long-time drawing card in Minnesota, looks forward to putting on for the people in Mexico and those watching the broadcast around the world.

“I have a love for Mexico City,” says Owens. “I love the atmosphere and the people. They are going to see the fundamentals, but also that explosiveness. They are going to see a lot of fireworks.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by Producciones Deportivas and televised throughout Latin America on Space, are available at the venue. 

Photo by Esther Lin/Showtime 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com 

wo exciting Youth world title fights have been added to the undercard for the huge IBO World light heavyweight championship showdown between unbeaten local hero Leon Bunn and hard-hitting Irishman Padraig McCrory, brought to you by Wasserman Boxing in association with Probellum. The unbeaten Luca Cinqueoncie from Offenbach, Germany, will put his WBC and IBF Youth World light heavyweight titles on the line against Leon Maric, while Leon Bauer and Hancel Gonzalez are set to collide in battle of the undefeated for the vacant IBF and IBO Youth World super middleweight titles. Both Youth title fights are presented in collaboration with Rainer Gottwald’s KAIF 5STAR Boxing Promotion. 

The unbeaten Luca Cinqueoncie will have home advantage in Frankfurt, as his birth town of Offenbach is only a few kilometers away from the site of the fight on October 22. It will be a rematch between Cinqueoncie and Maric, as they previously fought in May. The German “Rocky“ won the fight on points, but Maric activated a rematch clause to secure another shot at Cinqueoncie. While the fans can certainly expect an explosive rematch between the two light heavyweights, Cinqueoncie does not lack confidence ahead of the fight: “I want to thank Rainer Gottwald and Kalle Sauerland for this opportunity. It’s a huge honor to be fighting on such a big stage, that’s what you dream of as a kid“, he said. “Frankfurt is close to Offenbach and I can’t wait to put on a show for my fans. It’ll be a great fight, but I’ll bring that victory back home!“

In a battle of undefeated super middleweights, 24-years old Leon Bauer from Kandel, Germany, will square off with 21-years old Hancel Gonzalez from Columbia. The vacant IBF and IBO Youth World titles will be on the line. The fight was originally scheduled for September 24 in Ludwigshafen, but Bauer tested positive for Covid ahead of the bout. While he is still isolated at home, Bauer is already feeling better and is ready to resume training in the next couple of days – with the clear goal in mind to be at his very best on October 22 in Frankfurt!

Promoter Kalle Sauerland is excited by the addition of the two Youth world championships to the Frankfurt Fight Night: “It was a pleasure to work with Rainer Gottwald on securing those two exciting title fights! Luca Cinqueoncie and Leon Bauer are highly talented fighters, ready to make their way to the top. Offenbach is not far from Frankfurt, so Luca will have home advantage as well and I’m sure that many of his fans will make the drive to the arena. Everyone is in for a great event on October 22 at the Fabriksporthalle!“

Rainer Gottwald, promoter of both Cinqueoncie and Bauer, cannot wait for the first bell at the Fabriksporthalle either: “Luca and Leon are two tough, strong fighters and they will prove their talent on October 22. It was a great pleasure to work with Kalle and Wasserman Boxing to make this happen. It’s important for German boxing that we all work together and stage big events like this. All the fans from Frankfurt and Offenbach can look forward to an amazing atmosphere on fight night!“

Tickets for the IBO World light heavyweight championship between Leon Bunn and Padraig McCrory and the two Youth World championships featuring Luca Cinqueoncie and Leon Bauer on October 22 at the Fabriksporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, are on sale now and can be bought via Eventim.