Joet Gonzalez Walks Away with Stoppage Win Over Jeo Santisima
After another tough scrap in the squared-circle, featherweight boxer Joet Gonzalez (25-2, 15 KO’s) picked up his latest victory. He managed this by stopping Filipino fighter Jeo “Santino” Santisima (21-3, 18 KO’s) in the ninth round. Obviously, this is a much more favorable outcome than his previous prizefight when he suffered a unanimous decision loss at the hands of WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete.
The loss to Navarrete marked his second failed attempt at a full world title. The first shot was easily thwarted by his bitter rival Shakur Stevenson back on October 26, 2019. That match also stood as his first defeat as a professional fighter. In fact, he’s been rocky ever since, first winning a bout and then losing the next fight after that. Gonzalez is now 2-2 in his last four fights. Despite the turbulence in his current career, Gonzalez has retained the favorable rankings of #6 (WBO) and #6 (WBC). It will be interesting to see where he goes now.
The loss will be a stinging setback for Santisima who entered the affair ranked #7 (WBO). There is little question that he will lose that standing in the coming weeks. This defeat also successfully snapped a two-fight win streak that Santino was enjoying since suffering his last career defeat to common opponent Emanuel Navarrete.
HARD COUNTRY
The duel got off to a subdued start as both men cautiously felt one another out. Each fighter was attentive to the body. The action remained rather reserved during the second but began picking up steam in the third and fourth. By the fifth, the battle had largely evolved into a shoulder-to-shoulder grudge match. Set up typically behind his high guard, Gonzalez was edging the fireworks with more consistent success.
In the seventh, Gonzalez was able to snap Santino’s head back on several occasions with hard straight shots. He was also able to catch Santisima with a couple of neck swiveling hooks. For the first time in the fight though, Santino gave the impression that the damage was beginning to take its toll. The abuse continued in the ninth. Now, Gonzalez was digging to the body with a vengeance. He also was enjoying a great deal of success with uppercuts.
BUZZKILL
Unfortunately for Santisima, and the fans, the bout was abruptly and bizarrely halted after Gonzalez landed a single clean right hand in the ninth. The shot wasn’t particularly hard, and didn’t appear to seriously hurt Santino, but referee Edward Collantes jumped in to halt the action nonetheless. While it was not exactly in the fashion that he wanted it to come, Gonzalez will happily walk away with the stoppage win.
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By: Bakari Simpson
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