Joet Gonzalez significantly boosted his boxing career last night by defeating fellow contender Arnold Khegai at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. The featherweight main event was broadcast on Pro Box.
Gonzalez, who has previously faced world title challenges three times, received favorable scores of 96-93 and 97-92 from two judges, which was enough to overcome Khegai, who was favored on the third scorecard with 95-94.
Khegai, whose only prior loss was against Stephen Fulton in 2020, started aggressively, but this approach proved to be energy-consuming. The Ukrainian fighter, based in Los Angeles, struggled against Gonzalez’s body shots, and a point deduction in the fifth round further hampered his efforts. The intensity of the battle escalated in the seventh round, with both boxers bleeding as the fight turned into a grueling contest.
Khegai’s nose continued to bleed profusely in the ninth round as he appeared to weaken under Gonzalez’s persistent pressure. Gonzalez’s effective body attacks proved to be decisive. With this win, Gonzalez’s record improves to 27-4 (15 KOs), while Khegai’s record now stands at 22-2-1 (14 KOs).
In the co-main event, Luis Torres Valenzuela won after Nicholas Walters of Jamaica retired after the third round. The lightweight bout was scheduled for 10 rounds, but the 39-year-old Walters seemed to lack the necessary drive for the fight.
Jesus Saracho and Luis Lopez fought to a majority draw in their 10-round welterweight match. While one judge scored the fight 96-94 in favor of Lopez, the other two judges scored it 95-95. As noted by the Pro Box commentary team, neither boxer managed to assert dominance and secure a clear victory.
Brandon McCarthy, originally from Kilkenny and now fighting out of the Wild Card gym in California, demonstrated superior sharpness against Jose Rodriguez, winning by points. McCarthy showed impressive skill for someone with limited professional experience, overcoming a challenging fifth round to secure the victory.
Joshua Anton defeated Tariq ‘No Days Off’ Green in their six-round super-welterweight fight. Anton impressed as a tall and powerful puncher in the weight division.
Justin Viloria quickly defeated Juan Centeno of Nicaragua, achieving a knockout victory in just 1 minute and 4 seconds of the first round of their super-featherweight bout.
