By Chris Williams: Former WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (58-9, 49 KOs) will be battling 32-year-old Jonathan Oquendo (25-4, 16 KOs) on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto fight next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Gonzalez-Oquendo fight was added to the card on Thursday, and it’ll be a great addition to what is already an excellent undercard. The fight card will be televised on Showtime pay-per-view for $64.95 for standard definition and $74.95 for high definition.
Gonzalez, 33, is still trying to rebuild his career after being stopped in the 4th round by the younger Gary Russell Jr. last March in losing his WBC featherweight title. Since then, Gonzalez has stopped Kazuki Hashimoto in 2 rounds earlier this month. The fight against Hashimoto took place at super featherweight. There was no point in Gonzalez facing Russell Jr. again because he was clearly over-matched against him due to his hand speed advantage.
Also on the card is WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack defending his title against Britain’s George Groves, WBC super featherweight champion Roman Martinez facing Orlando Salido in a rematch, junior middleweights Ishe Smith and Vanes Martirosyan battling it out and featherweight Gervonta Davis taking on an opponent still to be determined.
“This will be an attractive fight for the fans, as we all know that the sporting rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico always generates great battles,” Gonzalez said via ESPN.com. “Oquendo is a fighter who always goes forward and who likes to exchange blows.”
Oquendo has lost 2 out of his last 5 fights. He was beaten by former three division world champion Abner Mares last year in 2014 by a 10 round decision. Oquendo was stopped in the 7th round by Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in October 2012. Oquendo also has losses to Juan Manuel Lopez in 2008, and Oscar Andrade in 2007.
“I will demonstrate that I have the desire to return to the top and fight for a world championship. Participating on a Floyd Mayweather event is a great opportunity for me, and I will make the most of it,” Gonzalez said.
Adding Gonzalez to the card is a smart thing by Mayweather Jr. because the fight is taking place on September 12th on the weekend of the Mexican Independence Day holiday, and this should interest a lot of Mexican fans into purchasing the card. Having a warrior like Gonzalez on the fight will interest a lot of boxing fans. Oquendo, who is from Puerto Rican, will attract a lot of fans as well. It’s a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico type rivalry and that will surely get a lot of fans excited about this card.
Gonzalez still has a lot left in the tank despite him getting stopped by Russell Jr. recently. Gonzalez isn’t over the hill or done just because he lost that fight. It was simply a case of Gonzalez fighting someone who was younger and quicker them himself in Russell Jr.
Orlando Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs) vs. Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs) rematch is also a Mexico vs. Puerto Rico match-up. The two fighters went at it earlier this year in April in an exciting fight that saw Martinez get the better of Salido. It very interesting fight to watch and it was filled with action from start to finish.
Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) vs. George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) has the makings of a real barn burner with these two big super middleweights going it in what will likely end in a knockout. Groves has huge power in either hand, and Jack is a very powerful too. It’s a fight that’s hard to make a prediction about because of both fighters being so equally matched. Jack is coming off of a career best win over Anthony Dirrell last April, and now he’s got an even tougher fight against a proven warrior in Groves.
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