It was a night of firsts in Southern California - the first boxing event promoted by Ten Goose Sports, and the first television exposure in the United States for young prospect Jhonny Gonzalez of Mexico City. Both came through as winners.
In a fight televised on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," Gonzalez, now 14-2, with 11 knockouts, won the vacant North American Boxing Federation bantamweight title with an impressive tenth-round TKO victory against tough and determined Ablorh Sowah, 16-3-1, with 9 knockouts, of Accra, Ghana.
Jhonny - his name is spelled that way on his birth certificate - dominated the fight at Pechanga Entertainment Center with his jab, lateral movement, and combination punching. Sowah is a former African jr. featherweight champion and currently ranked No. 13 by the International Boxing Federation. He pressed forward round after round, but Jhonny consistently outworked him and rocked him several times throughout the fight. Jhonny, ranked No. 14 by the World Boxing Council, scored a knockdown in the tenth round and stopped Sowah after a series of punches at 2:38 of the round.
After the fight, promoter Dan Goosen said, "It was a great way to kick off Ten Goose Sports. I loved it! I couldn't have asked for anything more from a 20-year old kid against a fighter as tough as Sowah. Jhonny has all the qualities that you like in a fighter - he's a good boxer with skills, but also has an exciting, aggressive style. The arena was sold out and the crowd loved it. But the best thing that I like about him is - he likes to fight. I really do feel that he showed tonight that he's going to be someone to be reckoned with."
In his dressing room after the fight, Jhonny said, "I'm very happy. I think with this title, doors will open for me in the future for the world title. I learned a lot tonight. Sowah is a good fighter, very tough in the early rounds. He was the first international fighter that I ever fought. I'm confident that I'll beat many more of them. I was very calm in the ring tonight. The most pressure that I felt was to win the title for the people back home in Mexico City, the people who believe in me and are waiting for me. I want to thank Dan Goosen and ESPN for giving me this opportunity. And I want to thank my dad, who has trained me since I was a kid. This title is dedicated to him."
