[Crimson]

Friday, September 25th, 1992
Great Western Forum; Inglewood, CA (attendance 8,483 of a possible 10,000)
Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez 34-2-2 (26) Mexico WBC
vs.
Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala 38-13-1 (19) South Africa WBA

In front of a Friday night fight crowd, Humberto Gonzalez was a 3-2 favorite to unify the titles against Jacob Matlala. Both fighters entered the ring in top condition. A clean Gonzalez right hand scored aflash knockdown early in the 1st. The WBC title holder applied steady pressure and in the 4th Matlala once again found himself on the canvas. After 4 rounds the ringside expert Aurelio Barrios had it 40-34 for Gonzalez.

Matlala attempted to rattle Gonzalez with an inside attack over the next 4 rounds and had a few moments of success, however Gonzalez began countering effectively from outside and putting more rounds in his favor. The left eye of Matlala was badly swollen (12). He looked dead tired, while Gonzalez was as fresh as if it was the 1st round. Ringside Expert, Aurelio, had it 79-71 for Gonzalez after 8 rounds.

Realizing he was hopelessly behind on the scorecards, Matlala began loading up on his punches, in an attempt to change the fights momentum. This made Gonzalez’ counter punching attack even more accurate. In the 11th round “Baby Jake” walked into a short hook he never saw and was down. Badly hurt, Matlala was on the canvas again shortly before the bell. He returned to his corner with the help of his trainer on very rubbery legs.

Looking to close the show with a flourish and please his fans in the process, “Chiquita” went for the KO in the final round. The punches of Matlala had little left on them, but he fired them often enough to prevent the referee from stopping it. At the fights conclusion Matlala’s could barely see out of his swollen (15) left eye. Punch stat numbers told the story of the punishment he had absorbed: 396-217 favoring Gonzalez.

The decision was a mere formality, as even the most ardent supporters of “Baby Jake” would have found it difficult to find 4 rounds to score for the South African. The judges had it: 116-107, 117-107, and 119-105 “for the still WBC and new WBA World title holder…..Humberto Gonzalez!”

Humberto Gonzalez Wu12 Jacob Matlala (defends WBC and wins WBA title)