_1661544352.jpg)
Gerardo Esquivel tested Frevian Gonzalez at times Saturday night, but Gonzalez won a second straight fight since suffering his lone loss.
Gonzalez beat Esquivel on all three scorecards – 59-54, 59-54 and 58-55 – to win their six-round lightweight bout by unanimous decision on the non-televised portion of the Jose Pedraza-Richard Commey undercard at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Oklahoma. Puerto Rico’s Gonzalez (6-1, 1 KO) is 2-0 since unbeaten Bryan Lua beat him by unanimous decision in a six-rounder 14 months ago in Las Vegas.
Esquivel, of Tacoma, Washington, slipped to 3-3-1 (1 KO).
Esquivel caught Gonzalez with a left hook that hurt him early in the sixth round. Gonzalez held Esquivel again to survive that trouble, which caused referee Gerald Ritter to deduct a point from him.
That sequence seemingly motivated Gonzalez, who came back to land several right hands and regained control of their bout.
Gonzalez’s right hand backed up Esquivel 20 seconds into the fifth round, but Equisvel came right back with a right hand that made Gonzalez hold him. Ritter warned Gonzalez for holding several seconds later.
With just under a minute to go in the fifth round, Ritter warned Gonzalez for holding again.
A right hand by Gonzalez landed flush with just under a minute remaining in the fourth round. Gonzalez’s straight left hands landed in the third round, when he fought from a left-handed stance.
Gonzalez’s right hand to the side of Esquivel’s head knocked him off balance with just under 30 seconds to go in the second round. An accidental clash of heads caused a brief break in the action barely a minute into the second round, when Esquivel pawed at the middle of his face.
A right hand by Gonzalez sent Esquivel to the canvas with just over a minute on the clock in the first round. Esquivel got right to his feet and complained to Ritter that Gonzalez hit him behind his head and pushed him down.
A replay following the round showed Esquivel was correct and Ritter ruled that it wasn’t a knockdown.
Earlier Saturday night, Abdullah Mason was taken the distance for the first time in four professional fights.
A rugged Angel Rebollar made Mason work much harder than he did during any of his first three bouts, but Mason comfortably beat Rebollar on all three scorecards in their four-round lightweight fight. The 18-year-old southpaw from Cleveland won by scores of 40-35, 40-35 and 39-36.
Abdullah (4-0, 3 KOs) dealt Los Angeles’ Rebollar his first professional loss (5-1, 3 KOs).
Rebollar pressed the action right up until the final bell and landed a hard right hand as Mason backed into the ropes with under 10 seconds to go in the fourth round. Mason dislodged Rebollar’s mouthpiece with a left hand that landed with just over a minute remaining in their fight.
Rebollar’s left hook caught Mason barely 25 seconds into the third round.
A left hand by Mason knocked Rebollar off balance with just under 10 seconds on the clock in the second round. Rebollar’s right uppercut landed while they worked on the inside with 1:25 to go in the second round.
Mason drilled Rebollar with a right uppercut 1:15 into the opening round. Mason scored a knockdown just 16 seconds into their bout, when his right hook made Rebollar fall forward and touch the canvas with both gloves.
It appeared, however, that Abdullah’s right glove cupped Rebollar behind his head and caused him to go down.
In the first fight Saturday night, another prospect from Cleveland, light heavyweight Dante Benjamin Jr., shut out Brazil’s Leandro Silva on all three scorecards in a four-rounder.
Benjamin (4-0, 2 KOs) took several flush punches from the left-handed Silva (3-7, 2 KOs) and showed some defensive flaws, but he won 40-36, 40-36 and 40-36.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.