WBO president Paco Valcarcel announced on Twitter today that after claiming the belt in 2021 and making three successful defenses, Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez has vacated his light flyweight title and been installed as the top contender at flyweight.
Gonzalez (28-3-1, 14 KO) spent the better part of six years at 112 pounds, where he suffered knockout losses to Giovani Segura, Jobert Gonzalez, and Kosei Tanaka before dropping down to 108. He ultimately edged out Elwin Soto for the WBO title before dispatching Mark Anthony Barriga and Shokichi Iwata to set up a unification showdown with Kenshiro Teraji.
That wound up falling through when “Bomba” came down with pneumonia, as did Gonzalez’s subsequent scheduled bout with Gerardo Zapata when he caught another bug. Though he ended his 16-month layoff with a decision over Rene Santiago in March, it appears he’s done with the division.
This news comes just two weeks after Teraji’s own move to 112. Can’t wait to watch these two fail to fight each other again.
As for what comes next, Riku Kano and Anthony Olascuaga are already scheduled to meet for the vacant flyweight belt next month, so Gonzalez is presumably next in line. The aforementioned Iwata sits at the top of the light flyweight rankings and will likely end up fighting no. 2 Jairo Noriega if Iwata gets past undefeated Jahzeel Trinidad in a couple weeks.