Kevin Gonzalez Emerges Victorious from Slugfest with Emanuel Rivera!
In his most recent tour of duty, super bantamweight prospect Kevin “Chacal” Gonzalez (25-0-1, 13 KO’s) kept his undefeated record intact. The Mexican fighter accomplished by besting Emanuel “Bebo” Nieves (19-3, 12 KO’s) by way of unanimous decision victory. The prizefight stood as his first match of 2022 and his first dustup contested in the United States. Prior to this, all his fights took place in his native Mexico. With the win over the Puerto Rican, Gonzalez will look to continue climbing in the rankings on his way to title contention.
NECK AND NECK
Rivera started the fight very busy and very accurate. Right from the start his lead left hand scored with jabs, hooks and uppercuts. Gonzalez returned fire, but his offense was not as frequent or crisp as Bebo’s. By the middle portion of the battle, each man was going to the body well. At the end of the period, Rivera had Gonzalez confined in the corner. During the second round the action remained even as both men threw a dizzying variety of blows. Only now, Gonzalez sported a reddening nose which was leaking blood.
Toward the end of the second period, Gonzalez seemed to find a bit more of his rhythm both with his jab and overall timing. This carried over into the third, where the bout morphed into a shoulder to shoulder phonebooth battle. The fourth was all Chacal. Bebo appeared as if real fatigue was slithering into his bones and muscles, which left him much more available for Gonzalez’s offense. As a result, Chacal scored while bouncing on his toes and landing at range.
Rivera enjoyed a good recovery round in the fifth. For the majority of the period, the Puerto Rican landed quality hard shots to the face and ribs. The sixth was a very exciting period where both fighters subscribed to Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robot rules. By the end of the round, Gonzalez had clearly gotten the better of the action.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE
Outside of Chacal picking up a cut on his right eye, the seventh was more or less a stalemate round. Eight followed suit. During the ninth however, it was Gonzalez who applied more pressure to the gas pedal and brought a hard, focused attack to Rivera. Bebo sank in some neck-twisting head shots in the mid-portion of the period but the Mexican still won the day. Both continued to supply an impressive array of head and body shots, hooks, straights and uppercuts.
Just like the preceding fight itself, the final round was an even ebb and flow of action that saw each man switch from the ring general and back. Going to the cards, it was a judge’s nightmare. Nevertheless when the cards were read, Kevin Gonzalez prevailed by way of 96-94, 97-93, and 98-92.
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By: Bakari Simpson
