By Dan Ambrose: WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (55-8, 47 KO’s) will be defending his title for the first time in 11 months when he faces #12 WBC Clive Atwell (12-0-1, 7 KO’s) in an optional title defense on May 24th in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. Gonzalez, 32, hasn’t fought since he captured the World Boxing Council 126lb title in a shocking 1st round stoppage win over the previously unbeaten Abner Mares last year in August.
Fans have been pushing for a Gonzalez-Mares rematch, but it’s failed to materialize and now Gonzalez is settling for a fight against fringe contender Atwell.
Atwell, 25, has won his last four fights against the following opposition: Glenroy Beckford, Anson Green, Rafael Hernandez and Revlon Lake. All four fights took place in Atwell’s home country of Guyana.
Gonzalez is one of those fighters who does well but he’s unpredictable. He can beaten if he’s matched against certain guys, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all of this Atwell guy beats him on May 24th, because Gonzalez doesn’t take shots too well. Atwell, if nothing else, is young and can punch a little. If he’s studied Gonzalez’s last fights he’ll have found out that he’s vulnerable to the body, and he can be knocked out to the head if you land something big enough. At 32, Gonzalez is someone that has seen better days. He’s still powerful as he’s always been, but he doesn’t look as sharp as he was 7 years ago.
If Gonzalez wins this fight then we’ll either see him face Mares in a rematch or he’ll likely face the winner of the Lee Selby vs. Romulo Koasicha.
Gonzalez obviously doesn’t have too much time left in his career, because he’s getting older now. He’s been a pro for the past 15 years, and he’s had a lot of fights. If he was smart he’d be thinking about looking for the biggest cash out fight he could get instead of milking his title against little known inexperienced fighters like the 25-year-old Atwell. If Gonzalez loses this fight then he’ll be kicking himself for not having taken a big named opponent like Mares.