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Jhonny Gonzalez threw the boxing world a big curveball tonight with a first round TKO win over Abner Mares, while Leo Santa Cruz won his second world title by powering through Victor Terrazas in three rounds in what was an action-packed if brief edition of Showtime Championship Boxing.
Here's Gonzalez flooring Mares on a left hook, then finishing the fight moments later. Also note that the first thing Gonzalez does is run over to check on Mares. The two expressed their friendship before the fight, and it echoed after, as well.
Gonzalez (55-8, 47 KO) always had a puncher's chance -- and always does -- but Mares (26-1-1, 14 KO) was the big favorite going into this fight, a rising pound-for-pound type star with world titles in three weight classes. To say that few saw this coming would be to say that really anybody saw this coming. Even those who gave Gonzalez a decent chance at the upset surely didn't see him smashing Mares in the first round.
And here's Santa Cruz (25-0-1, 15 KO) putting the finishing touches on Terrazas (37-3-1, 21 KO):
GIFs courtesy Zombie Prophet