Notebook: Gonzalez ill, three-belt unification bout vs. Teraji postponed
Specifics on Inoue's injury; Lopez-Conan official; Boxxer upcoming schedule; eye-catching purse bid result; Quick hits; Show and tell
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
The three-belt junior flyweight unification fight between Kenshiro Teraji, the WBC/WBA titleholder, and WBO titlist Jonathan Gonzalez was postponed on Thursday because Gonzalez is ill, All Star Boxing promoter Felix “Tutico” Zabala told Fight Freaks Unite.
Teraji and Gonzalez were scheduled to meet April 8 at Ariake Arena in Koto, Japan in a significant fight that was slated to stream live in the early morning on ESPN+ in the United States.
However, Gonzalez saw a doctor Thursday in his native Puerto Rico and was diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a kind of bacterial infection of the respiratory system.
According to the doctor’s report sent to the WBO, Gonzalez had been dealing with a cough, shortness of breath, a fever and nasal congestion for three days.
He was tested, diagnosed, prescribed various medications and sent home. The doctor recommended complete rest for a week and for the fight to be postponed for at least six weeks.
“This is to officially inform your organization that Jonathan Gonzalez is ill and cannot proceed with his scheduled unification fight against WBC/WBA champion Kenshiro Teraji on April 8, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan,” Zabala wrote to the WBO along with sending the doctor’s report.
Teraji and Gonzalez both won on the same card on Nov. 1 in Saitama, Japan to set up their anticipated unification fight.
Teraji (20-1, 12 KOs), 31, of Japan, scored two knockdowns in a surprisingly one-sided seventh-round knockout of countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi to unify the two 108-pound belts and win The Ring magazine title.
In the co-feature, Gonzalez (27-3-1, 14 KOs), 31, a southpaw, retained his belt for the second time in a unanimous decision over Japan’s Shokichi Iwata.
Teraji may still fight against a replacement opponent with Anthony Olascuaga (5-0, 3 KOs), 24, of Los Angeles, and Gerardo Zapata (14-1, 5 KOs), 28, of Nicaragua, under consideration.
The official main event of the card is the professional boxing debut of Japanese kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa against Yuki Yonaha in a six-round junior featherweight bout. Nasukawa, who is 42-0 as a kickboxer, is best known to boxing fans in the United States for being dropped three times and obliterated in the first round of an exhibition bout against then-41-year-old and much bigger Floyd Mayweather on Dec. 31, 2018 in Saitama.
The card also features Takuma Inoue (17-1, 4 KOs), 27, of Japan, against former junior bantamweight titlist Liborio Solis (35-6-1, 16 KOs), 40, of Venezuela, for vacant WBA bantamweight title and an IBF featherweight eliminator between Reiya Abe (24-3-1, 10 KOs), 29, a Japanese southpaw, and former featherweight and junior featherweight titlist Kiko Martinez (44-11-2, 31 KOs), 36, of Spain.
Inoue has knuckle injury
When the news came out on Tuesday that Japanese pound-for-pound star and three-division champion Naoya Inoue had suffered an injury that forced him to postpone his move up to junior featherweight to challenge unified titleholder Stephen Fulton on May 7 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, there was no clarity on the specific injury Inoue had.
And even when the promoters, including his United States promoter Top Rank, formally announced the postponement on Wednesday it was simply termed “a training injury” and that the bout would be rescheduled for a date to be announced in July.
But Fight Freaks Unite has learned that Inoue suffered a dislocated knuckle on his left hand, and injury obviously not too serious if they are planning to reschedule the fight for July.
Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs), 29, who has won world titles in three divisions, junior flyweight, junior bantamweight and bantamweight, where on Dec. 13 he knocked out Paul Butler in the 11th round to take his WBO belt to unify all four titles and become the first undisputed 118-pound champion of the three- or four-belt era and first undisputed champion in the division in 50 years dating to the two-belt era.
Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) will make his third world title defense and second as a unified champion when he meets Inoue.
Lopez-Conlan official
Top Rank and Conlan Boxing made official on Wednesday what Fight Freaks Unite reported over the weekend, that IBF featherweight titlist Luis Alberto Lopez’s first defense will come against Michael Conlan on May 27 (ESPN+ in the U.S., BT Sport in the U.K. and Ireland) at The SSE Arena in Conlan’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“The passionate Belfast fans will pack The SSE Arena hoping to lift their hero, Michael Conlan, to a world title,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “I also know that Luis Alberto Lopez thrives in enemy territory and will not relinquish his title without a tremendous fight.”
The fight will be the third in the U.K. for Lopez (27-2, 15 KOs), 29, of Mexico, who won the 126-pound belt by upset majority decision over Josh Warrington in his hometown of Leeds, England, on Dec. 10. He also won an important fight in London in December 2021 when he knocked out Isaac Lowe in the seventh round in an eliminator to earn the mandatory shot at Warrington.
“I am a road warrior. Traveling to my opponent’s home country doesn’t faze me,” Lopez said. “I won my world title in Leeds, and now it's time to defend it in Belfast. The louder they cheer for Michael, the harder I will fight. The IBF title will remain in Mexico. May 27 will be a special night for me and Michael’s fans will go home disappointed.”
Two-time Olympian and a bronze medalist, Conlan (18-1, 9 KOs), 31, has won two fights in a row — most recently a first-round knockout of Karim Guerfi on Dec. 10 in Belfast — since he was ahead of then-WBA secondary titlist Leigh Wood on all three scorecards going into the 12th round before Wood’s big comeback to knock Conlan out of the ring for the 2022 knockout of the year with 95 seconds left in the fight.
Now, Conlan has a shot at a top title at home.
“This is a massive opportunity, Conlan said. “Fighting for the world title in Belfast is something I’ve always dreamed of, and I will be taking this opportunity with both hands. The SSE Arena will be buzzing, and I will do everything I can to bring a world title home. Credit to Lopez for coming to Belfast, but I am taking his title. He is not prepared for what is coming his way. Ireland will see a new champion crowned.”
Boxxer’s upcoming schedule
Boxxer, one of the leading promoters in the United Kingdom, has announced three new cards. Each will air on its broadcast partner Sky Sports.
May 27: The company will stage its first U.K. stadium show when Chris Billam-Smith (17-1, 12 KOs) faces an opponent to be named at the 15,000-seat Vitality Stadium in his hometown of Bournemouth, England.
In the co-feature, Mikael Lawal (17-0, 11 KOs) will defend the British cruiserweight title for the first time against Isaac Chamberlain (14-2, 8 KOs).
May 6: Newly-signed light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi (16-0, 13 KOs) will face Poland’s Pawel Stepien (18-0-1, 12 KOs) at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England. Stepien was scheduled to face top contender Callum Smith earlier this month in a Matchroom Boxing main event but it was canceled due to a Smith injury.
Among other bouts on the card, one will feature light heavyweight Ben Whittaker (2-0, 1 KOs), a 2020 British Olympic silver medalist, in his first action since August. He has been sidelined by a shoulder injury.
June 10: Red-hot 20-year-old junior welterweight prospect Adam Azim (8-0, 6 KOs) will headline against an opponent to be determined at York Hall in London.
Quick hits
Super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli (24-0, 20 KOs), 27, a 2016 French Olympian, won a hard-fought and action-packed unanimous decision over two-time Ecuadorian Olympian Carlos Gongora (21-2, 16 KOs), a 33-year-old southpaw, in the headliner of the Eye of the Tiger card on Thursday night at the Montreal Casino in Montreal. Mbilli won 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 in the toughest fight of his career. Gongora hurt Mbilli with an uppercut in the second round and nearly dropped him but he rebounded to take the fight to Gongora in a back-and-forth battle all the way. Mbilli had Gongora in serious trouble in the final round as he took a beating but hung on to the final bell.
Former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (57-3-2, 32 KOs), 48, a southpaw from Argentina, won his sixth fight in a row since ending a six-year retirement in 2020 following his 2014 title loss to Miguel Cotto. Martinez knocked out Jhon Teheran (18-3, 15 KOs), 38, of Colombia, at 1 minute, 27 seconds of the first round at Luna Park in Buenos Aires. The fight was Martinez’s first in his home country in a decade. He last fought in Argentina in April 2013, winning a close decision over Martin Murray in a homecoming title defense.
Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions won an IBF purse bid Thursday for a flyweight final title eliminator between Nicaraguan countrymen Cristofer Rosales (35-6, 21 KOs), 28, a former WBC flyweight titlist, and former IBF junior flyweight titlist Felix Alvarado (38-3, 33 KOs), 34. However, it seems unlikely the fight will happen as MP Promotions, which paid a $5,000 participation fee, only bid $2,500. The IBF has no minimum bid and there were no other offers. If it does take place it would likely land on an M&R Boxing card in Miami, MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons told Fight Freaks Unite. He said Alvarado, who is entitled to 60 percent ($1,500), would receive his contractual minimum but it seems unlikely Rosales would fight for $1,000 (his 40 percent share). Gibbons said he discussed a deal with Rosales promoter Matchroom Boxing but it went nowhere. The fight is for the right to become mandatory for titlist Sunny Edwards (19-0, 4 KOs), 27, of England, who outpointed Alvarado in November.
Show and tell
After Hall of Famer Erik Morales stopped Pablo Cesar Cano in the 10th round to win the vacant WBC junior welterweight title, making him the first Mexican to claim titles in four divisions, he didn’t opt for a soft touch in his first defense. The 35-year-old Morales, in the twilight of his legendary career, gave 24-year-old rising contender Danny Garcia a shot. They met in an HBO main event at Houston’s Reliant Arena before a largely Mexican crowd there to support Morales against Garcia, who is of Puerto Rican background. Morales was stripped of the title the day before the fight for missing the 140-pound limit by two pounds, so only Garcia could claim the belt.
Morales fought valiantly but got knocked down in the 11th round and didn’t have enough in his worn-out body, losing 118-111, 117-110 and 116-112. Garcia moved to 23-0, claimed his first world title en route to unifying two belts, knocking out Morales in a rematch to send him into a retirement and eventually also winning a welterweight title. Morales-Garcia I, which I covered at ringside, was on March 24, 2012 — 11 years ago on Friday. Here is a limited edition HBO poster and a poster advertising a closed circuit broadcast of the fight in Houston in my collection.
A note to subscribers
I sincerely appreciate your readership. If you’re reading, it means you love boxing just like I do. If you’ve been reading you also know the quality and quantity of what I produce. It’s one-stop shopping. Read the newsletters and there is no need to search multiple websites or click a multitude of links to get the latest news, opinion and detailed fight schedule. Everything you need is in one spot and delivered directly to your inbox (or via phone alert if you download for free the superb Substack app). You don’t have to hunt for the news; it comes to you.
I believe that is worth something, so while I will continue providing stories, notes and the schedule for free, I encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription for the most content. A paid subscription is your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism. I am beholden to no network, promoter, manager, sanctioning body or fighter. If you have read my work at all during the past 23 years I’ve covered professional boxing you know that I keep it real and that will not change.
To upgrade your subscription please go here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe?
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Gonzalez photo: Naoki Fukuda
Please upgrade your subscription here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
Interesting to hear Inoue's injury as it gives an indication of how long he'll be out of action.
If "a dislocated knuckle" was referring to the old "boxer's knuckle" injury, then as it requires surgery and a 5 or 6 month rehab, there would be no way of Inoue making a July fight.
For that reason I assume that Inoue hasn't fully dislocated the knuckle. He may have only agitated one, or more, of the many tendons in the knuckle area.
If that's the case, let's hope it gets no worse when he eventually gets back to punching. This must be a worry for Team Inoue as Naoya needs to be able to punch at full power against Fulton.