Kostya Tszyu vs Miguel Angel Gonzalez

Kostya Tszyu regained full world championship status on 21 August 1999 when he stopped Miguel Angel Gonzalez 48 seconds into the tenth round at the Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort in Miami, Florida, to win the vacant WBC super-lightweight title. Tszyu entered as the WBC interim champion, having stopped Diosbelys Hurtado the previous November, while Gonzalez had remained one of the leading claimants to the full championship following his draw with Julio Cesar Chavez in March 1998. Both men weighed 139½lb. Gonzalez brought a record of 43-1-1, Tszyu 23-1-1, and the bout finally took place after previous scheduled meetings had been delayed by injury.

The opening round was both untidy and competitive. An accidental clash of heads cut Gonzalez over the left eye, and the Mexican responded in the second by attempting to rough Tszyu up, including punches which strayed low. None of it disturbed the Australian for long. Tszyu began finding the range with the straight right hand and was increasingly able to bring Gonzalez onto punches from awkward angles. The official cards reflected the early balance: John Keane had Tszyu winning the first two rounds, while Don O'Neill and Chuck Williams had Gonzalez winning the opener before Tszyu took the second.

From the third round onward, the contest began to settle firmly in Tszyu’s favour. He was the more accurate man, punching with greater force and giving Gonzalez fewer opportunities to work at his preferred pace. Tszyu’s method was not based upon wild pressure. He moved Gonzalez into positions where the right hand and short left hook could land cleanly, then stepped away before the Mexican could establish a sustained reply. Gonzalez remained willing and kept trying to force exchanges, but he was being made to absorb heavier, more damaging punches. All three judges gave Tszyu the third, and the fourth was especially one-sided, each official scoring it 10-8 despite there being no knockdown.

Tszyu came close to ending the fight in the fifth. Reuters reported that Gonzalez was repeatedly in danger as Tszyu landed hard to the jaw, combining unusual punching angles with direct head shots. Again there was no knockdown, but the punishment was sufficiently severe for two judges to score the round 10-8. Gonzalez survived and continued, but by then the pattern was clear. Tszyu was dictating the exchanges and Gonzalez was increasingly fighting to stay in contention rather than to impose himself. The sixth, seventh and eighth all went to Tszyu on every official card.

Gonzalez’s resistance deserved respect, particularly after a 14-month layoff caused by repeated injury, but the long absence had left him facing a difficult assignment against a fighter operating with confidence and rhythm. He continued to come forward, yet Tszyu’s timing remained the decisive factor. The Australian landed combinations without becoming reckless and repeatedly beat Gonzalez to the punch. The ninth was another clean round for Tszyu on all three cards. After nine rounds Keane had him ahead 90-79, O’Neill 89-81 and Williams 89-80. Gonzalez had not been knocked down, but the scoring showed how completely the championship had slipped away from him.

The end came almost immediately in the tenth. Tszyu resumed the attack and again landed heavily as Gonzalez attempted to defend himself. His corner had seen enough. Trainer Abel Sanchez climbed onto the ring apron and asked referee Frank Santore Jr to stop the contest, bringing the fight to an end after 48 seconds of the round. There was no dramatic final knockdown; the stoppage resulted from accumulated punishment and the absence of any realistic route back into the contest for Gonzalez. Reuters described Tszyu as doing so much damage that the Mexican corner called for the finish.

The victory completed Tszyu’s recovery from the only defeat of his professional career to that point, the stoppage loss to Vince Phillips in May 1997. He had since rebuilt with victories over Ismael Armando Chaves, Calvin Grove, Rafael Ruelas and Hurtado before finally securing the full WBC championship against Gonzalez. The Miami performance was significant because it showed a more controlled version of Tszyu than the one who had sometimes relied too heavily on force earlier in his career. He had enough power to hurt Gonzalez repeatedly, but it was his accuracy, positioning, and patience that made the punishment cumulative. Gonzalez was experienced, durable and a former WBC lightweight champion, yet over nine completed rounds he was unable to find a sustained answer. Tszyu left Miami as the undisputed WBC super-lightweight champion and began a championship run that would eventually establish him as the division's leading fighter.

This was an important fight for Kostya Tszyu because it told us whether the Vince Phillips defeat had left any doubts in the Russian’s mind. By 1999, he had rebuilt himself through Calvin Grove, Rafael Ruelas, and that mad first round with Diosbelys Hurtado, but Miguel Angel Gonzalez was a different sort of test: experienced, durable, and still a serious operator at 43-1-1.

What impressed me was how controlled Tszyu was. Earlier in his career, he could become a bit too eager to prove how hard he punched. Against Gonzalez, he was much more patient. He found the range with that straight right, kept his feet underneath him and gradually took the fight away. The fourth and fifth were particularly damaging, with the judges even scoring 10-8 rounds despite no knockdowns. That tells you how one-sided the punishment had become.

Gonzalez was tough and game, but he was being beaten to the punch and could not disrupt Tszyu’s rhythm. By the end of nine rounds, the cards read 90-79, 89-81 and 89-80. His corner did the right thing in the tenth, climbing onto the apron after another burst of punishment forced the stoppage at 48 seconds.

For me, this was the night Tszyu really re-established himself after Phillips. The power was still there, but the patience, positioning and shot selection were better. He did not just beat Gonzalez; he systematically broke down a very seasoned fighter.