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By Scott Shaffer
16/09/2006
Gonzalez loses when trainer stops fight
Israel Vazquez TKO10 Jhonny Gonzalez... In a surprise ending to an excellent fight, Israel Vazquez defeated Jhonny Gonzalez by technical knockout when Gonzalez's trainer Oscar Suarez stopped the contest in the middle of the tenth round even though Gonzalez was leading on all three scorecards. Both men were bloodied and knocked down twice, but Gonzalez won nearly all of the first six rounds. Gonzalez, who vacated the WBO 118-pound title for the opportunity to challenge for Vazquez's WBO 122-pound, fought through a bloody nose but made the most of his opportunity early on. He knocked Vazquez down in the fourth round, but Vazquez appeared more frustrated than hurt as he got up. In the sixth round, Gonzalez's left jab-left hook combinations confused and hurt Vazquez, leading to a second knockdown. But a pair of Vazquez right hooks floored Gonzalez in the seventh, and turned the momentum around. Vazquez could have been credited with another knockdown in the eighth, but it was ruled a push. Vazquez hurt Gonzalez pretty badly with a tenth-round knockdown. Gonzalez got up, and although he looked unsteady, he was ready to continue when Suarez stopped the bout. Vazquez, a classy Mexican warrior, had taken a beating but found a way to prevail over adversity. It should be noted that last year, Vazquez had the IBF title taken from him without a loss in the ring. What was particularly unusual about the stoppage is that this was reportedly Suarez's first fight with Gonzalez, and Suarez made the call despite the presence of Gonzalez's father in the corner. Gonzalez is just 26 years old, but having turned pro as a teenager, he is a young veteran who should be at the championship level for years to come. source: HBO PPV
