Another fight, another win for Cristian Gonzalez.
The fringe flyweight contender knocked out former world title challenger Juan Alejo in the first round Friday night at the Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City. Gonzalez, who resides in nearby Tultitlan, improves to 15-1 (5 knockouts).
Gonzalez had not fought in six months and was eager to get into the ring. He made a statement at the expense of Alejo as to being a fighter to watch over the next several months.
The 22-year-old was momentarily stunned by a right hand to the chin during the opening minute of the first round. That punch seemed to wake up Gonzalez, who stepped up his aggression and punch output, walking down Alejo.
Towards the end of the round, Alejo turned to the southpaw stance, allowing Gonzalez to further attack the body. A left hook to the body dropped Alejo to his knees where he remained as referee Laurentino Ramirez counted him out at 3:07.
Gonzalez has now won his nine bouts since suffering his only loss as a pro to unbeaten Angel Ayala in May 2019. In his previous fight on September 24, Gonzalez defeated Kenny Cano by unanimous decision. He also has wins over former world title challenger Saul Juarez, fringe contender Adrian Curiel and previously-unbeaten Saleto Henderson.
Alejo, who resides in Monterrey, Mexico, drops to 25-11-1, 14 KOs. The 37-year-old has now lost seven of his last eight bouts, including losses to Angel Acosta, Jonathan Gonzalez, Angel Ramos and Angel Ayala.
In the co-feature bout, junior lightweight Jonathan Ramirez of Guanajuato, Mexico knocked out Jorge Ortega in the third round. Ramirez improves to 9-3, 7 KOs.
A right-left combination hurt Ortega, backing him up against a corner. Ramirez followed up with combinations, but a left uppercut to the head followed by a series of punches dropped Ortega to the canvas. Referee Jorge Bonilla counted Ortega out at 2:38.
Ortega, who resides in Gomez Palacios, Mexico, drops to 5-11, 2 KOs.
In flyweight action, Jorge Jimenez of nearby Cuernavaca defeated Sergio Manzo (3-2, 1 KO) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Jimenez, who improved to 4-1, 2 KOs.
In a clash of lightweights who reside in Mexico City, Axl Miranda dropped Alejandro Estrada (1-1) twice en route to a knockout win at 2:56 of the third round. Miranda improves to 4-1-1, 3 KOs.
The card was promoted by Ricardo Maldonado and aired live in the United States on EstrellaTV.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing