PHOENIX – Jesus Gonzales wears a Fifties’ style hat that is everywhere these days. Old-school is new-century chic. Everybody has a hat and a Twitter account. But Gonzales has been wearing the hat for as long as anybody in Phoenix has known him, which means his hometown still calls him Ernie.
“Yeah, I’m a lot more of an Ernie than a Jesus,’’ Gonzales said not long after he began his pro career in 2003 as Jesus instead of the Ernie who had promoters and managers buzzing about a powerful, promising amateur nearly a decade ago.
Then, Top Rank’s idea was to re-name Gonzales in an attempt to better sell him to Mexican and Mexican-American fans. But a stage name never changed the identity. Gonzales, now a super-middleweight, has always been the friendly, approachable personality you would expect an Ernie to be. It’s who he is. It’s who his 4-year-old son is. He didn’t name him Jesus, Jr. He’s Ernie III.
“If Ernie The Third was here right now, he’d be racing around this place, playing, saying hello to everybody and just having fun,’’ Gonzales (26-1, 14 KOs) said at US Airways Center where he faces Francisco Sierra (24-3-1, 22 KOs) Friday night in an ESPN2-televised bout.
If fathers are like their sons, Gonzales, now 26, still has lot of the kid in him. There have been tough days, moments inside and outside of the ring that he wishes he could re-do. Through it all, however, Gonzales is still that kid, just having some fun.
A lot of hyped prospects collect as many grudges as they do scars in careers that go awry. But there’s no chip on Gonzales’ shoulder. There’s only that hat. Let somebody else be angry. Gonzales moves forward with undiluted optimism rare in a cynical business, yet as undiminished as the power in a left-hand that accounts for his nickname, El Martillo — The Hammer.
The temptation is to say that Gonzales is just naïve. But there’s something refreshing about a fighter who hasn’t let the game’s unforgiving criticism drive him into bitterness. For a couple of years, he couldn’t get a fight because of management problems and old stories about interference from his father, another Ernie, who is no longer his trainer.
He wound up doing whatever he could to support his growing family. Another child is on the way. He loaded trucks for Target at midnight. He worked late-night shifts as a security guard. In tough times, he saw people stuck in the same place he was.
“I did whatever I could to make a little money,’’ he said.
He vowed that if he ever got back into a position where he could help, he would. Since he launched his Phoenix comeback with a victory in March, that’s what he’s been doing. He has worked with underprivileged school kids and spent time with cancer patients. The Phoenix City Council honored him for work in the community.
“I’ve been in a position where nobody would help me,’’ Gonzales said as he stood in front of a wall covered by posters full of cheers done in crayon by school kids. “I can’t give anybody money, cause I don’t have any money. But I can give them my support.’’
Gonzales, a people person, is back in the fight to become a people’s champ, which seemed to be his destiny when he signed with Top Rank. If anything, his renewed attempt at recapturing an Ernie’s promise will be at least as difficult as it was when the name changed and Jesus’ hopes unraveled.
He returns to the scene of his lone loss Friday at US Airways Center against an opponent, Sierra, who took the fight on short notice when Henry Buchanan of Maryland backed out late last week. In some ways, the place and the opponent bring Gonzales back to the beginning of the end. He was stopped in eight rounds by Jose Luis Zertuche in 2005.
It’s difficult to judge Sierra. The Mexican failed to make the contracted 168 pounds Thursday, meaning he can’t win the North American Boxing Federation’s vacant title. Only Gonzales can. Sierra was heavy in two trips to the scale – 176.5 pounds the first time and 175 an hour later. He reportedly had been training for a fight later in July in Mexico. He agreed to the Gonzales bout only last Friday. It’s hard to know if Sierra is ready.
Nonetheless, his record says he’s dangerous. He beat former champion Jose Luis Lopez and lost to Edison Miranda. Twenty-two knockouts in 28 fights add up to fight-stopping, career-ending power. If Sierra is ready, he looms as Gonzales’ toughest challenge since Zertuche.
What’s more, the ESPN2 cameras will be there. Gonzales fell off the national radar after the Zertuche loss. Against Sierra, he has a chance to re-introduce himself and perhaps get in line for a shot at even bigger prize.
Gonzales is known for being the last fighter to beat reigning super-middleweight Andre Ward. It happened in the amateur ranks. Gonzales hasn’t forgotten and – for a while at least – neither had Ward. A couple of years ago, Ward was quoted as saying he wanted to avenge the loss to Gonzales. Ward has bigger fish to fry these days. First, there is Carl Froch for the Super-Six Tournament title.
For Gonzales, perhaps there’s a better chance at a fight against Kelly Pavlik, who is trying to get back into the mix after a stint in rehab.
“Pavlik makes some sense,’’ said Gonzales promoter Darin Schmick, whose Fan Base card includes lightweight Emanuel Lucero (26-6-1, 14 KOs) against Roy Jones-promoted Yaundale Evans (14-0, 10 KOs) on a seven-fight card scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. (PST).
Gonzales sparred with Pavlik before Pavlik was beaten in 2010 by Sergio Martinez in a crushing defeat. According to Gonzales, he injured Pavlik’s rib cage.
“I spent three weeks with him in camp,’’ Gonzales says. “If we fought, he knows how it would go. I don’t think he’d take a chance against me. I think Pavlik wants big money in a world title fight. But we’ll see. Right now, I’ve got Sierra that’s more than enough to worry about. I’ll just keep on working, doing what I do.’’
Doing what an Ernie would do.
