‘RUTHLESS’ ROMERO DUNO DEFEATS GILBERTO ‘FLACO’ GONZALEZ IN CLASSIC PHILIPPINES VS. MEXICO BATTLE

INDIO, CALIF. (May 17, 2018): Rising lightweight knockout artist *Romero
“Ruthless” Duno *(17-1, 14 KOs) of General Santos City, Philippines
defeated *Gilberto “Flaco” Gonzalez *(27-5, 22 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico
via 10-round unanimous decision in the main event of the May 17
edition of *Golden
Boy Boxing on **ESPN *at *Fantasy Springs Resort Casino *in Indio, Calif.
Duno landed the harder shots in every round, though Gonzalez’s heart and
use of distance proved for an exciting and action-packed bout. Duno won the
fight with scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93.

“Gonzalez is a very good fighter with a good chin,” said *Romero Duno. *”I
got him early, but he’s very tough, so he lasted the whole fight. This was
a big fight for the Philippines and everyone was watching. I hope this
takes me to bigger and better fights. I’m ready to come back anytime.”

“I felt I won the fight,” said *Gilberto Gonzalez. *”He [Duno] wasn’t
really landing shots. Even though he dropped me, I won more rounds just by
keeping him at a distance. The headbutts were also a constant problem. Just
watch the tape.”

Lightweight prospect *Oscar Duarte *(14-0-1, 9 KOs) scored a unanimous
decision victory against Filipino pugilist *Rey “Flash” Perez *(22-10, 6
KO) in his first ten-round fight in tonight’s co-main event. Duarte started
off slowly, but managed to drop Perez two times in round eight. The first
was caused by a body shot and the second by a series of shots to the chin.
Duarte dominated into the final round, which earned him the victory with
scores of 98-90, 99-89 and 99-89.

“I started cautiously because I needed to find my distance,” said *Oscar
Duarte. *”Once I found my distance, I was able to land more shots. I saw
that I was hurting him, so I looked for the combination that would drop
him, starting from the head and finishing to the body. I look forward to
working on my craft and moving on to bigger and better fights.”

*Francisco Esparza *(8-0-1, 3 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada scored an
eight-round unanimous decision victory against *Edgar Cantu *(7-3-2, 1 KO)
of Laredo, Texas in a featherweight clash. Esparza got the better in nearly
all of their exchanges, allowing him to win with three scores of 80-72.

“Cantu has got a good chin,” said *Francisco Esparza. *”I didn’t really
feel any of his shots, except for the head-butt, which caused the cut above
my ear. I don’t know what’s next, but I’m ready for whatever. I trust my
team.”

*Jaba Khositashvili *(3-0, 2 KOs) of Akhaltsikhe, Georgia scored a
second-round technical knockout victory against *Fabian Valdes *(2-3) of
Huatabampo, Mexico in a scheduled six-round super middleweight fight. After
hurting him several times, Khositashvili stopped Valdes at :26 of the
second round.

“It was a bit difficult because I was not able to fight for a year,” said *Jaba
Khositashvili. *”But now I feel perfect. I’m always ready and can even
fight in a week or two.”

*Raymond Muratalla* (1-0) of Fontana, Calif. made his professional debut by
scoring a four-round unanimous decision victory against *Benjamin Da
Cunha* (0-4)
of Ivelines, France in a lightweight battle. Muratalla won with three
scores of 40-36.

“I had so much fun in there,” said *Raymond Muratalla.* “This is what I’m
going to do from now on. I’m so happy my family and friends came out to see
me.”

*Duno vs. Gonzalez *was a 10-round lightweight fight presented by Golden
Boy Promotions. The event was sponsored by Tecate, *”THE OFFICIAL BEER OF
BOXING” *and Hennessy, “*Never Stop, Never Settle.”* The fights took place
on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.