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Romero Duno Defeats Gilberto Gonzalez
In Classic Philippines vs. Mexico Battle
Photos: Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos/Golden Boy
Rising lightweight knockout artist Romero "Ruthless"
Duno (17-1, 14 KOs) of General Santos City, Philippines
defeated Gilberto "Flaco" Gonzalez (27-5, 22 KOs) of
Mexico City, Mexico via 10-round unanimous decision in
the main event of the May 17 edition of Golden Boy
Boxing on ESPN at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in
Indio, Calif. Duno landed the harder shots in every
round, though Gonzalez's heart and use of distance
proved for an exciting and action-packed bout. Duno won
the fight with scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93.
"Gonzalez is a very good fighter with a good chin," said
Romero Duno. "I got him early, but he's very tough, so
he lasted the whole fight. This was a big fight for the
Philippines and everyone was watching. I hope this takes
me to bigger and better fights. I'm ready to come back
anytime."
"I felt I won the fight," said Gilberto Gonzalez. "He [Duno]
wasn't really landing shots. Even though he dropped me,
I won more rounds just by keeping him at a distance. The
headbutts were also a constant problem. Just watch the
tape."
Lightweight prospect Oscar Duarte (14-0-1, 9 KOs) scored
a unanimous decision victory against Filipino pugilist
Rey "Flash" Perez (22-10, 6 KO) in his first ten-round
fight in tonight's co-main event. Duarte started off
slowly, but managed to drop Perez two times in round
eight. The first was caused by a body shot and the
second by a series of shots to the chin. Duarte
dominated into the final round, which earned him the
victory with scores of 98-90, 99-89 and 99-89.
"I started cautiously because I needed to find my
distance," said Oscar Duarte. "Once I found my distance,
I was able to land more shots. I saw that I was hurting
him, so I looked for the combination that would drop
him, starting from the head and finishing to the body. I
look forward to working on my craft and moving on to
bigger and better fights."
Francisco Esparza (8-0-1, 3 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada
scored an eight-round unanimous decision victory against
Edgar Cantu (7-3-2, 1 KO) of Laredo, Texas in a
featherweight clash. Esparza got the better in nearly
all of their exchanges, allowing him to win with three
scores of 80-72.
"Cantu has got a good chin," said Francisco Esparza. "I
didn't really feel any of his shots, except for the
head-butt, which caused the cut above my ear. I don't
know what's next, but I'm ready for whatever. I trust my
team."
Jaba Khositashvili (3-0, 2 KOs) of Akhaltsikhe, Georgia
scored a second-round technical knockout victory against
Fabian Valdes (2-3) of Huatabampo, Mexico in a scheduled
six-round super middleweight fight. After hurting him
several times, Khositashvili stopped Valdes at :26 of
the second round.
"It was a bit difficult because I was not able to fight
for a year," said Jaba Khositashvili. "But now I feel
perfect. I'm always ready and can even fight in a week
or two."
Raymond Muratalla (1-0) of Fontana, Calif. made his
professional debut by scoring a four-round unanimous
decision victory against Benjamin Da Cunha (0-4) of
Ivelines, France in a lightweight battle. Muratalla won
with three scores of 40-36.
"I had so much fun in there," said Raymond Muratalla.
"This is what I'm going to do from now on. I'm so happy
my family and friends came out to see me."
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