While his footwork and combinations have diminished over the years, Jhonny Gonzalez can always rely on his power and experience to carry him through. This was evident late Saturday night.
The two-division titlist slowly broke down former fringe contender Christopher Martin, eventually stopping him in the 10th round at the Deportivo Agustin Ramos Millan in Toluca, Mexico.
Gonzalez, now campaigning as a junior lightweight, improves to 61-10 (51 knockouts). Martin (29-8-3, 9 KOs) has now lost five of his last six bouts.
The 34-year-old Gonzalez, who has won his last three bouts in a row, had a noticeable size and reach advantage over Martin.
Gonzalez mostly worked from the center of the ring, while Martin worked from the outside. Gonzalez began to open up more in the fourth round and dropped Martin with a short left hook to the head about a minute into the fifth round.
As the bout progressed, Gonzalez?s punching power and aggression began to take its toll on Martin. The San Diego, California resident would only throw one punch at a time, mostly jabs, as Gonzalez pressed the action.
The punishment Gonzalez dished out on Martin culminated in the 10th round. Gonzalez dropped Martin 20 seconds into the second round with a double left hook to the head. Martin beat the count but continued to receive a beating throughout the round. After the round concluded, Martin?s corner advised referee Rafael Saldana to stop the fight.
In the co-feature bout that also aired on Televisa in Mexico, former IBF junior middleweight titleholder Carlos Molina won an eight-round split decision over Javier Prieto.
Molina goes to 26-6-2 (8 KOs), while Prieto drops to 27-9-2 (20 KOs).
Both had their moments throughout the fight, providing decent exchanges. One judge scored the bout 77-75 in favor of Prieto, while the other two judges scored the bout 78-74 and 77-75 for Molina, who has won four bouts straight since losing the IBF title to Cornelius Bundrage in October of 2014.
