Posted on 06/28/2023
Matthew Gonzalez has not fought in a while, but he’s going to change all that. And he better fight like hell on June 29 at Sony Hall, because he’s got the very capable Terell Bostic in front of him in an eight-round feature presented by Larry Goldberg and Boxing Insider Promotions.
The 27-year-old hails from Ridgewood in Queens, and showed some aptitude toward boxing at an early age. In an amateur career that had 64 bouts, Gonzalez won five national junior titles.
But he took a little hiatus from boxing for a while before resuming and embarking on a pro career.
His debut came in May 2017 when he knocked out Raekwon Speight in the first round. He often found himself fighting opponents with much more experience. But those challenges weren’t daunting for him.
It’s been a while since Gonzalez has actually fought. In his last bout, he sustained a six-round draw with tough Dakota Linger in October 2021. Interestingly enough, in his next bout, Linger knocked out contender Josue Vargas in two rounds.
Gonzalez first encountered his current trainer-manager Joe Zagarino in Teofimo Lopez’s training camp. Zagarino, a former amateur boxer, had some fighters in the camp, and sparred a little with him.
Zagarino says “We had chemistry. It was instantaneous.”
He fell in love with the fighter’s skill set and competitive nature.
“He is a violent artist,” Zagarino says of Gonzalez. “He creates opportunities, and dictates pace. he constantly imposes himself on his opponent, and he’s loose, fluid and creative….. and mentally he has the goods.”
Zagarino says that Gonzalez’s balance and footwork have become better since he’s been working with him, and that he is implementing analytics to further give his fighter an edge.
A southpaw, Gonzalez has adopted the nickname “Lefty Gunz,” and with “freakish hand speed,” as Zagarino puts it, he is able to make that moniker stick.
He certainly wants everything fast; at the Westbury Boxing Club, where he trains, he usually prefers the sparring that comes from talented amateurs, because with only three rounds in their bouts, they have a tendency to operate at a much more consistent pace than the pros.
He may find that kind of pace very advantageous against Bostic, along with what Zagarino calls a “brutal” left hand that has laid more than one foe to rest. Gonzalez is 12-0-1 with eight KOs and has plenty of attitude. He’s got a relatively sizable following he’s bringing with him to Sony Hall.
And it’s likely he’ll be back after this. Zagarino explains that for all of the New York City metropolitan area, Larry Goldberg and Boxing Insider Promotions are “a big deal” now because of the consistency of their shows in the largest market in the country.
And that’s the truth.
Tickets for the June 29 show are priced at $95, $125, $200 and $325 and are available through TicketWeb. For information about tables, contact [email protected]. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with first bell slated for 7:30 PM.
Established in 1997 as a premier boxing news and information destination, Boxing Insider has, over the course of the last ten months, transitioned into the promotional business. This will be Boxing Insider’s fifth professional boxing promotion.
Sony Hall is located at 235 W 46th St. in Manhattan, at the bottom of the Paramount Hotel, directly across from the Imperial Theater.
This event will stream free of charge on BoxingInsider.com.