Chelo Gonzalez ready to dethrone Ricky Burns

Photos: Joel Colon/PR Best –

A confident Jose “Chelo” Gonzalez, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight #1 ranked, made today his last training in Puerto Rico before his travel to Glasgow for his world title bout against the champion Ricky Burns on May 11, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, in a Matchroom Boxing presentation.

Gonzalez (22-0, 17 KOs), who is also the WBO Latino champion worked today for the Puerto Rican media and showed his good condition to challenge Burns (35-2, 10 KOs) in his homeland.

“We are in the final stage of my training and I feel very good thanks to God”, Gonzalez, who is going to travel tomorrow to Scotland, said. “We have worked intensely, as always, for my fights, but with the focus in win the title.”

Today, the Toa Baja native, who received from the Mayor Anibal Vega Borges the flag of his town, worked some rounds of pads with his trainer Roberto Nevarez, some rounds in the punching bag and hitting the speed bag.

“We are comfortable with all the work. It’s just time to work with the weight for the fight and as always we make the weight at the weigh in,” Gonzalez said.

In his most recent fight, Gonzalez won a seventh round TKO over Alejandro “Soma” Rodriguez, who was hurt and didn’t continue the fight starting that round, in a show presented on February 2, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

In Burns, a Scottish idol who is going to defend his 135 pounds belt for the third time, Gonzalez will find a former junior lightweight champion who beat Puerto Rican Roman “Rocky” Martinez (actually champion again) in 2010 to gain the crown that defended three times. Burns come off a fourth round TKO win over Kevin Mitchell in September, 2012.

“Burns is a slick fighter, a boxer who throws a lot of punches and very tricky, but I’m very focused on do what I have to do to win this fight and to bring the title to Puerto Rico,” Gonzalez said.

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