Yudel Jhonson vs. Norberto Gonzalez: The main event of this weeks edition of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2 should be a good one. The headliner of that fight is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist winner from Cuba, Yudel Jhonson (15-1, 9 KO). Jhonson will be taking on Norberto Gonzalez (20-3, 13 KO) in a 10 round junior middleweight bout. Like most Cuban boxers Jhonson is highly skilled and technically sound. Jhonson works his jab early and often and is very good at landing a quick one-two and then moving laterally forcing his opponent to turn and chase him. The southpaw also has a strong overhand left and very short straight left. Jhonson's boxing IQ is very high and that is clear watching his slick style. Unlike other Cuban boxers Guillermo Rigondeaux and Erislandy Lara, Jhonson does take some clean punches upstairs but has shown a good chin and avoids the big punch most of the time with his head movement. Jhonson won't be the only slick boxer in the ring Friday night because his opponent Gonzalez also brings skills to the ring. They are different in how they use their legs though. Jhonson can stand in the pocket and uses short steps at intelligent angles to stick and move while Gonzalez likes to stay on the outside and really gets on his bike at times. One thing to watch out for is head clashes since Jhonson is a southpaw and Gonzalez is an orthodox fighter. Gonzalez has a nice jab and throws his uppercut very well but he also has some noticeable flaws, most notably the fact that after he throws combinations he will back straight up with his hands low which is always a good way to get dropped. Later in fights Gonzalez tends to slow down and instead of sticking and moving will try to dig in and trade punches but that would not be a good strategy against Jhonson who has the faster hands. Early on it will be interesting to see which one of these two defensive minded fighters will take the lead but whoever wins the first few rounds shouldn't matter much. Jhonson is the faster fighter and more technically sound which is why I think he should have a fairly easy time with Gonzalez and win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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