Gonzalez, With Weight Advantage, Draws With Dzinziruk on HBO

Neither Jonathan Gonzalez nor Sergiy Dzinziruk made the sort of impression that would make fight fans say, “I want to see that guy again,” and come to think of it, maybe HBO should have just pulled the plug pre-show on the opener on HBO's Boxing After Dark, which unfolded at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY. Gonzalez was nine pounds over the weight limit Friday, but handed over much of his purse, and the show went on. It was a ho-hum affair, and ended with a ho-hum decision, a draw after 12. The scores were 117-111 (Gonzalez), 115-113 (Dzinziruk) and 114-114.

Dazini went 166-610 to 170-621 for Heavy G. G had the edge in power shots (131 to 100), and on my totally unofficial card, rendered ultra-iffy because of my boredom, I liked the 117-111 card for G.

Gonzalez joined the Scale Fail Club, when he weighed in Friday for his fight versus Sergiy Dzinziruk at 163 pounds (to 156 1/2 for Dzinzi), well over the contracted 154 pound limit for their opening tussle on Saturday's HBO Boxing After Darl Show at the Turning Stone in Verona, NY.

The two teams decided if at 8 AM Gonzalez was 167 pounds or less, the fight could proceed. Behind closed doors, he was 165 pounds.

On fight night, G was 172, to 162 for Dzinzi, a two-weight division gulf between them.

HBO's Max Kellerman spoke to the Puerto Rican prospect, and asked him how he missed weight so badly. The boxer blamed the “travel” for making weight; he was to make $125,000, but he had to give up $60,000 as a penalty. The events promoters also handed over another $40,000, according to HBO, to Dzinzi, to sweeten the pot and help him get over the edge Gonzo had in eating whatever the hell he wanted weeks before the fight.

Gonzalez (15-0 entering; age 23) banged Dzinzi to the body, using a bulk edge against the lefty, a Ukrainian who lives in Germany. The 36 year old Dzinzi, best known for losing to Sergio Martinez (TKO8) in March 2011, started slowly. He ate sharp right in both the first two rounds. Gonzo backed up, but Dzinzi didn't press him, make him hustle to avoid contact. He maybe thought his jab to the body would take the steam out of Heavy G. The Puerto Rican would rush in now and again with a flurry, but this was a slowly paced bout through three.

In the fourth, the pace didn't accelerate much. G's corner asked him to press more after the round. In round five, G stuck with what worked on the lefty, the right hand, often a lead right. “Press, without holding back,” G's corner said after the round. In the sixth, G started to make Dzinzi back up. In the seventh, things stayed tight. To their man, Dzinzi's corner told him not to be “lazy.” In the eighth, Dzinzi's defense dropped a notch. He wasn't even bothering to try and slip shots much of the time.

In the ninth, Dzinzi ended with a flurry, maybe getting that he could easily be down on the cards. In the tenth, Dzinzi didn't show the urgency he needed to. In the 11th and 12th, the story was the same. Dzini didn't have the pop to bother Heavy G, G was calm and threw the heavier leather, if not as frequently as you'd like. “You gotta stop this guy,” the Gonzalez corner said before the twelfth. He didn't, though the two did amp it up some in the last frame, and we went to the cards.

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