CARSON — Albert Gonzalez is done waiting.
The fighter who goes by the nickname of “Chop Chop” believes he is ready to fight for a world title right now.
Gonzalez made a statement on July 18 at the expense of former world title challenger Aaron Alameda, scoring a knockout win before a partisan crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park. Gonzalez improved to 18-0 with 11 knockouts.
After a feeling-out opening round, Gonzalez began to walk Alameda down in the second round. After the midway point of the round, Gonzalez backed Alameda against the ropes, unleashing a combination to the head. Seeing an opening, Gonzalez landed two right hands to the stomach, dropping Alameda to the canvas. Referee Ray Armendariz counted Alameda out at 1:52.
“I knew my opponent was going to be tough,” said Gonzalez in the post-fight interview. “He’s been in the ring with tough fighters. And I knew that none of them were able to get them out of there. So I knew this guy got a chin on him. I knew if I was able to get him out of there, it wasn’t going to be a punch to the head. It was going to be a body punch. I was able to touch his body early and break him down. We were able to land the shot earlier than expected. We were able to get the job done.”
The 24-year-old Gonzalez, who is trained by Channel Islands High School graduate and former IBF junior lightweight champion Robert Garcia, also took the opportunity in the post-fight interview to call out the world titleholders in the featherweight division.
“Props to Top Rank,” said Gonzalez. “They’re keeping me busy, but I don’t want to just stay busy. I know what I want and that’s to win a world title. I signed with Top Rank and there’s two world champions who (are also) signed with Top Rank. These are fights that are not hard to make and that’s (WBC featherweight titleholder) Bruce Carrington and ‘Divino’ (WBO featherweight titleholder Rafael Espinoza.”
Leading up to the fight, in an interview with ES News, Garcia said Gonzalez is ready to face Carrington.
Garcia was absent last Saturday from Gonzalez’s corner. He was in San Bernardino, where he was providing color commentary for the ProBox TV card that took place at the Orange Show Events Center. His son, Robert “Pita” Garcia, handled chief second duties for Gonzalez.
The famed trainer recently gave Gonzalez a strong endorsement, comparing him to one of boxing’s top stars.
“ ‘Chop Chop’ is my next ‘Bam,’” Garcia recently told The Star. “Bam” is Jesse Rodriguez, who won the WBA bantamweight title on June 13 by stopping Antonio Vargas. The unbeaten Rodriguez is considered one of the best fighters in boxing.
Gonzalez appreciated the compliment and hopes to fulfill that validation in the ring.
“That’s a pressure that is crazy,” Gonzalez told The Star. “One thing I’ve learned is I give all my work to God and I let God sort it out. I learned not to trust man, but to trust God alone. Put all my worries and pressures onto Him and I know I’ll be able to exceed expectations.
“I’m grateful to hear what Robert said about me. I’m just here to just show everybody that what Robert said about me is true.”
In his previous fight on March 21, also in San Bernardino, Gonzalez, who resides in nearby Riverside, stopped Brandon Chambers in the opening round.
Alameda, who resides in Nogales, Mexico, falls to 31-4, 18 KOs. The 32-year-old challenged for the vacant WBC world junior featherweight title, losing to countryman Luis Nery by unanimous decision.
Almost nine months later, Alameda lost by majority decision to eventual IBF featherweight titleholder Angelo Leo.
Francisco A. Salazar covers boxing for The Star. He has also written for Ring Magazine, Boxingscene and Fightnews. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at FSalazarBoxing.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Unbeaten Gonzalez shows he’s ready for a world title shot
Reporting by Francisco A. Salazar, Special to Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Francisco A. Salazar, Special to Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
