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Golden Boy Finds a Diamond in the Rough in Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez

DSC_0539(2)By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña

Last Friday at Fantasy Springs Casino I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Golden Boy prospect Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez. Christian who is the younger brother of Alejandro “Cobrita” Gonzalez, the WBC featherweight champion of the 1990’s began making a name for himself in 2015 after signing with Golden Boy Promotions. At an early age Christian was given the nickname “Chimpa” (spanish for chimpanzee) from his mom, as he would dance around the house like a “Chimpa” when music was played and has kept the name ever since. As a young child, Gonzalez played soccer but gave that up at the age of 12 to focus on boxing. Some of Christian’s favorite fighters growing up were Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, JR.

The young “Chimpa” is currently 12-0, with 11 big wins coming by way of knockout. Gonzalez began his professional career fighting his first 7 fights in Mexico after graduating from Buena Park High School in 2013. His first fight in the U.S. came against Misael Chacon in November 2014. He won by second-round knockout and was signed to Golden Boy Promotions in January of 2015. “It was dream come true and it continues to motivate me knowing Golden Boy has the tools to make me a Superstar” Gonzalez stated when I asked how he felt about being signed by his idols promotional company.

Unlike other prospects in the Golden Boy stable Christian only had 18 amateur fights so for Gonzalez every fight is a huge learning experience. “I’m always working on little mistakes when I look at the film,” he said. “Little by little, I’m getting better and I’m starting to see improvement.” At 20 years old Christian believes he needs to continue to fight about 5 times a year, he also stated he and his team want to take his career one step at a time to allow him to develop physically and mentally before taking on a highly ranked opponent. “Chimpa” thinks by the time he’s 23 or 24 he’ll be in his prime and ready to take on the best in boxing. Gonzalez believes his strength in boxing is his dedication to training, and his will to win” but in the same breath Gonzalez admits his weakness is food, so every now and then he sneaks in a candy bar. “Chimpa” has a fan friendly come forward style of fighting which reminds many fans of the “GGG” style or “Mexican Style” and with his high KO percentage it’s hard to argue with them.

Christian has lived in Buena Park his entire life and has a huge Southern California following. One important question that did arise was, what “Chimpa” had planned if boxing didn’t pan out? Christian believes he would eventually become a firefighter or enlist in the military if boxing didn’t work out for him. Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez will be fighting on the one year anniversary of the popular downtown Los Angeles series LA Fight Club on March 4th inside of the Belasco Theatre. In a televised bout on Estrella T.V. Gonzalez will go against David “Dangerous” Rodela, 17-12-4, 7 KO’s in 8 round super featherweight event.

I wish Gonzalez the best of luck in his career and he’s definitely one to watch in the next few years.

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