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| UNCASVILLE, CT – Top New England fighters collide in a high-stakes clash this Saturday, November 2, when “King” Kevin Walsh (14-0, 7 KOs) defends his New England Super Featherweight title against Irvin Gonzalez (16-4, 12 KOs) in an 8 round turf war at Mohegan Sun Arena. Walsh vs. Gonzalez is the CES Autumn Classic co-feature, one of the biggest and best fight cards of the year. 12 action-packed bouts featuring many of the best prospects and contenders in New England. Tickets are priced starting at $77 and are quickly selling out. Purchase yours now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office, CESFights.com or Ticketmaster. The showdown pits 2 of the best fighters from 2 iconic fight cities in Massachusetts – Walsh from Brockton, the home of legends the likes of Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and Gonzalez from Worcester, known for producing top fighters such as Jose Rivera, Edwin Rodriguez and Jamaine Ortiz. Perhaps more importantly, this is a crossroads battle between a fighter on the rise in Kevin Walsh and a fighter looking to re-establish his claim as the top featherweight in New England in Gonzalez. Walsh, who got a late start in boxing at the age of 23, has been on a tear since turning pro in 2021. The 31-year-old fought 4 times in 2023, winning the New England Super Featherweight title in the process. Walsh added the New England Lightweight title in March of this year and continued to impress, adding 4 wins, 3 of them by knockout. A few years ago, Irvin Gonzalez was where Walsh is today. The Worcester native of Puerto Rican descent went pro in 2016 after a long amateur career and rattled off 12 straight wins. As his star rose, many looked at Gonzalez as the next world champion from Massachusetts. Then came two straight defeats to Elijah Pierce and Toka Kahn, both in 2019. “The losses had a lot to do with outside the ring issues,” confesses Gonzalez. “Being young and dumb. That’s pretty much what it was. I was going through a lot of things. I wasn’t there mentally and I was trying to push through it, and I just couldn’t.” Gonzalez’s career has been up and down ever since. Irvin rebounded with 2 wins and the WBC Youth Featherweight title in 2020 before losing the title in his first defense to future world title challenger Edward Vasquez. A win later, Irvin was shocked by Dannis Arias in 4 rounds. Gonzalez returned in November 2023 with a first-round stoppage before fighting for the Boston Butchers from April to July of this year. Now on a mission to reclaim his position as one of the top fighters in New England, the 28-year-old called out the man who was now receiving those accolades, Kevin Walsh. “I’ve seen him fight a few times,” says Gonzalez of Walsh. “He does have skills, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think he’s anywhere near my level, especially when I’m on my A game.” “I’ve seen him around before too,” says Walsh. “I think he’s a good fighter, but I honestly just feel like I’m a stronger fighter. I’m a faster fighter and I’m just more talented. He’s got experience and he’s been doing it longer than me, but it really doesn’t matter. I feel like I’m right there with all those guys who beat him, so I should be able to take care of Irvin Gonzalez just like them if not faster. I just feel like I’m overall the better fighter.” The fighters agreed to meet on September 7 before a foot injury forced Gonzalez to pull out of the fight only 2 days before. Rather than a super fight between 2 top featherweights, Walsh had to settle for a stay-busy fight against Yeifer Valencia, whom he stopped in one concussive round. A man of his word, Walsh agreed to reschedule the fight against Gonzalez for this Saturday night. “I accepted the fight right away, because I hoped that he wasn’t bullshitting about the injury,” said Walsh in a recent face-to-face with Gonzalez. “I wanted to give him that opportunity. Nothing but respect to Irvin, but if he wasn’t injured and only pulled out because he wasn’t ready, that’s some weak shit.” “I’m the one who asked for the fight originally,” countered Gonzalez. “I’ve never backed down from a fight, but this is a big fight for both of us and I want to be at 100%. I don’t want to be at 50% with one foot. Come November 2nd, I’ll be 100% so that when we step into that ring, we’re both ready.” If both men enter the ring at their best as they plan to do, fans are in for a special treat on Halloween weekend. The fight is a contrast of styles between the taller, rangier and more experienced Gonzalez and the naturally bigger, older and more active Walsh. It is as intriguing as a fight gets between 2 top operators, neither of which agree on it being a 50/50 fight. “No offense to him, but he doesn’t really stand out to me,” said Gonzalez about Walsh. “He was always fighting at 130 or 135, which is not my weight class. I fight at 126 and when I got offered this fight, I said I’ll come up to 130 to fight him because I don’t think we’re on the same level. It might appear like we are on paper, but skill wise and experience wise, I don’t think we’re on the same level whatsoever, but I guess we’ll just have to find out.” “I disagree with that,” says Walsh emphatically. “I’m not trying to take too much away from Irvin. He’s a great fighter. He comes forward and tries to walk his opponents down, but I just feel like he’s underestimating me. I feel like he’s sleeping on me, and I feel like I’m just too fast and too strong of a fighter for him.” Both men cannot be right, which makes this a can’t miss fight on Saturday night, especially since they represent 2 fighting cities in Brockton and Worcester. “I’m a different type of fighter,” said Walsh when predicting the outcome. “I was born for this. It means the world for me to be able to represent Brockton and follow in the footsteps of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Rocky Marciano. It’s history in the making. On November 2nd, people are gonna see I’m not just a boxer, I’m not just a puncher, I can do it all, and I can go into the late rounds, but I don’t think it’s gonna go 8 rounds.” While Gonzalez declined to offer a prediction, he guaranteed that he would represent his city of Worcester well against Brockton’s best. “I look at Worcester as the fighting city of Massachusetts,” said Gonzalez, naming Jamaine Ortiz, Jose Rivera, Bobby Harris and many others to back up his claim. “We’re the top dogs. I’m a die-hard Worcester native and to fight somebody from Brockton, a different city from Massachusetts, it means a little bit more. Which city is better? I guess we’ll find out on November 2nd.” Brockton vs. Worcester. Experience vs. Activity. Two men at a crossroads in their careers. This is a fight you don’t want to miss. Tickets available at the Mohegan Sun box office, CESFights.com or Ticketmaster. For more information on these cards and all other CES Boxing events, visit cesfights.com. INFORMATION ABOUT CES BOXING CES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast. Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”. ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA Mohegan Sun Arena finished 2021 with its first “#1 Indoor Arena” ranking for its capacity in the world according to Pollstar and VenuesNow, ranked among the top 10 venues in the U.S. regardless of size based on ticket sales, and was named “2021 Innovator of the Year” by Celebrity Access for its ViacomCBS residency. In recent years, the “Most Beloved Venue in America” has also been the “#1 Casino Venue in the World,” “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” and a seven – time national award – winner for “Arena of the Year.” For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711. |
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