Jonathan Gonzalez vs Mark Anthony Barriga Preview June 24th, 2022
WBO Light Flyweight Champion Jonathan Gonzalez of Puerto Rico will be defending his belt for the first time this Friday, June 24th when he takes on Mark Anthony Barriga of the Philippines. The 12-round bout can be seen live from Kissimmee, Florida on the ProBox network. Gonzalez won the title in his last outing in October when he beat Elwin Soto by split decision. Barriga last boxed in October also when he beat Ramel Antaran by an eight-round unanimous decision.
Gonzalez vs Barriga Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Mark Anthony Barriga +260
- Jonathan Gonzalez -350
My Pick
The 31-year-old Gonzalez is a southpaw who has 163 rounds under his belt since making his pro debut in 2011 following a fine amateur career. He stands 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 62-inch reach and enters the ring with a mark of is 25-3-1 with 14 Ko’s. Since turning pro he’s also won the interim WBO Youth Flyweight Title in 2012 and the NABA Light Flyweight Crown in 2015. He also captured the the WBC Latino Flyweight Belt in 2015 and has captured his WBO NABO Title a couple of times.
His lone draw came against Michael Ruiz Jr in 2014 over eight rounds while his three defeats came at the hands of Kosei Tanaka by seventh-round stoppage in 2019, to Jobert Alvarez by sixth-round KO in 2016 and to Giovani Segura by fourth-round KO in 2013. The loss to Tanaka came in a shot at the WBO World Flyweight Crown. He’s been stopped in all of his losses so it’s fair to say Gonzalez has a suspect chin.
He’s also beaten the likes of Juan Alejo, Julian Yedras, Ricardo Rodriguez, Carlos Ruiz, Miguel Del Valle, Omar Soto and Danny Flores. Gonzalez isn’t known as a heavy puncher as his current knockout ratio stands at 46.7 per cent but it shouldn’t be underrated by Barriga. Gonzalez has experience against top-tier boxers and that should be an advantage for him this weekend.
Barriga is a 29-year-old southpaw who climbs through the ring ropes with a record of 11-1 with 2 Ko’s. He’s a former WBO International Minimumweight champion whose only pro defeat came at the hands of Carlos Licona by way of split decision for the vacant IBF Minimumweight Crown in December 2018. Barriga made his pro debut in 2016 and has 95 rounds of experience under his belt.
He stands 5-feet-2-inches tall with an unlisted reach which puts him at the same height as Gonzalez. Barriga definitely lacks one-punch power in his fists though as his current knockout ratio is just 16.7 per cent. His biggest wins so far have been against Wittawas Basapean and Gabriel Mendoza. Before turning pro, Barriga enjoyed a fine amateur career and also participated in the World Series of Boxing.
He represented his homeland at the 2012 Olympics in London, England where he went 1-1 and boxed at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships where he beat Paddy Barnes and lost to Zou Shiming. He fought at several other AIBA World Boxing Championships over the years as well as the 2010 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and numerous tournaments in the Philippines. He won a gold medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games and a bronze at the 2014 Asian Games.
Prediction…
Gonzalez is a solid pro but his chin isn’t the greatest. However, that may not be a problem since Barriga has very little in the way of power. What Barriga does possess though is excellent boxing skills. Still, I think Gonzalez’s pro experience should see him through this fight as he retains his title.
Gonzalez’s pro experience should be the difference.
Play: Gonzalez -350 @ BetOnline.ag
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Jonathan Gonzalez betting • Mark Anthony Barriga betting