Dsalita The president of the WBO, Paco Valcarcel, took to Twitter today to announce that Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez has decided to relinquish his light flyweight title after a successful reign in 2021 with three defenses. He has now been named as the top contender in the flyweight division.
Gonzalez, with a record of 28-3-1 and 14 knockouts, spent a significant amount of time in the 112-pound division, facing tough losses to fighters like Giovani Segura, Jobert Gonzalez, and Kosei Tanaka before moving down to 108. Despite facing setbacks, he managed to clinch the WBO title from Elwin Soto and then went on to defeat Mark Anthony Barriga and Shokichi Iwata, setting up a unification fight with Kenshiro Teraji.
Unfortunately, due to health issues, the showdown with Teraji didn’t materialize as Gonzalez fell ill with pneumonia. His comeback fight against Gerardo Zapata was also canceled due to another illness. Despite returning to the ring with a win over Rene Santiago in March after a long layoff, it seems Gonzalez has decided to move on from the light flyweight division.
This development follows shortly after Teraji’s own move to the flyweight division, hinting at potential future matchups between the two. In the meantime, Riku Kano and Anthony Olascuaga are set to battle for the vacant flyweight title next month, with Gonzalez likely to be in line for the winner. Meanwhile, Iwata remains at the top of the light flyweight rankings and could face Jairo Noriega if he defeats Jahzeel Trinidad in an upcoming fight.
