By: Sean Crose
The 12-0-1 Matthew “Lefty Gunz” Gonzalez took on 8-1 fellow junior welterweight Terrell Bostic Thursday night at the Sony Theater in New York City. The bout was a scheduled eight round affair. Bostic looked very fluid and strong in the opening round. Gonzalez, however, was able to find his stride in the two rounds following. It was a close fight, no doubt, but Bostic looked to be getting muscled by the stronger Gonzalez. Bostic had his moments in the fourth, but Gonzalez did some strong work courtesy powerful punching and a sharp southpaw jab.
Bostic was sent to the mat by Gonzalez is the fifth, but it was from a toss, not a punch. Slowing the tempo down a bit in the sixth, Bostic perhaps threw Gonzalez off a bit, as he was able to land effective and to keep his man from launching a serious offense. Bostic went on to toss off a series of strong body shots in the seventh. It looked like the fight might be starting to turn in Bostic’s favor. The eighth and final round saw Bostic continue to work the body with fast, accurate punches. Gonzalez, on the other hand, tried to land power shots that would earn him the win (by decision or by knockout). After the fight had ended, it was frankly difficult to tell who the judges would give the nod to.
Yet in the end, Gonzalez won via unanimous decision by scores of 78-74, 77-75, 77-75.