Jonathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez saw his quickest night at the office in more than six years.
The former title challenger picked up his second straight win, following a 4th round stoppage of Mexico’s Armando Torres. Their Telemundo-televised main event ended with Torres turning away during the middle of an exchange, prompting the referee to call a halt to their junior flyweight heat Friday evening at Bryan Glazer Family JCC Auditorium in Tampa, Florida.
A matchup of Puerto Rico versus Mexico also saw a southpaw versus orthodox, which at times made for an awkward style clash. Gonzalez was warned early for leading with his head, though the Boricua southpaw also enjoyed his fair share of success in the opening round. Torres attempted to press the action, his aggressive attack leaving himself open for left hand counters.
Torres had his say during exchanges in round two. The 40-year-old knockout artist landed right hands at close quarters, which Gonzalez took well but was also kept honest in his first fight in 15 months. The Caguas, Puerto Rico native hadn’t fought since a 10-round win over Saul ‘Baby’ Juarez last February in Miami, showing minimal signs of ring rust as he quickly grew comfortable in the ring.
Action threatened to heat up in round four, only for things to quickly fall apart for Torres. Gonzalez landed a right hook, only for the two boxers to clash heads immediately thereafter. The sequence left Torres with a gushing cut atop the left side of his forehead and defenseless as Gonzalez threw three more more punches before being pried away by the referee.
Time was called for the ringside physician to examine Torres and determine whether he was fit for combat. Action resumed, only to come to an end mere seconds later. Gonzalez connected with a right hook to the body, causing Torres to turn away. His body language convinced the third man that he was done for the night, with the fight stopped on the spot.
Gonzalez improves to 24-3-1 (14KOs) with the knockout win, his earliest exit since scoring a 2nd round knockout of Miguel Del Valle in May 2015. The win is his second in a row since a knockout loss in a spirited effort versus then-unbeaten flyweight titlist Kosei Tanaka in August 2019.
Torres falls to 26-19 (19KOs). The loss snaps a five-fight win streak, his longest since enjoying a 7-0 career start more than 20 years ago.
The bout topped the spring season finale of Boxeo Telemundo.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox