Zeferino 'Speedy' Gonzalez Los Angeles-based; Welterweight and Light-Middleweight A tall 6' 0" 'string-bean', with a snappy jab, and quick fists. Built up his early career by fighting at the Olymic Auditorium in Los Angeles, and the Silver Slipper in Las Vegas. Got his record to 19-2-1 (5 KO's) by September 1979, and was good enough to get ranked as the #11 Welterweight. Approved by ABC-TV to be a Welterweight 'opponent' for Roberto Duran. Broadcast on ABC-TV Fighting at Caesar's Palace on Friday Night - September 29, 1979 - the 149 lb. Speedy, jabbed and moved to frustrate the 149 lb. 'thick' Roberto Duran for the first '4-Rounds'. Though Roberto was scoring, he was not doing any damage. After realizing that Roberto could not hurt him, Gonzalez turned aggressor in Rounds 5, 6 and 7 bringing the Caesar's Palace spectators to cheer the 'west coast boxer' on. Then as a shock to all, the light-punching Californian started trading with the 'Great Duran', snapping Roberto's head back several times with long range right hands. Over the last '3-Rounds', it was Speedy who landed the cleaner punches, and it appeared to the Television viewers that Zeferino Gonzalez earned a 'deserved' 10-Round Draw. When the Unanimous Decision was announced, the scoring was 'abysmal'. Judge - Chuck Minker.....98-92 Judge - Art Lurie............99-92 Judge - Harold Buck........99-91 The Caesar's Palace spectators boo'ed the decision. The ABC-TV 'switch-boards' lit up with protest from viewers of the fight calling in after the bout.
I remember that fight, Roberto wore a robe that said something like "greatest pound for pound" then proceeded to fight like ****.
Duran was like Jessica Simpson: a long run of absolute jaw dropping breathtakingness, followed by extreme weight gains and losses that robbed them of what made them special.
That bout was 10-Round Draw if there ever was one. Roberto is 'the man', but that Friday Night he did virtually nothing after the 4th Round, except for maybe a brief charge in the 8th Round. After moving away from Roberto for the 'first' 4-Rounds, Zeferino started to fight in the 5th Round, and took control of the bout. Roberto 'floundered' about. Afterwards, Zeferino said, 'I foolishly gave away the first 4 rounds, because I thought he could punch. But, when I found out he couldn't hit hard, I took it to him'. Zeferino's trainer said; 'How could Harold Buck score only '1' round for my fighter. We fight in Las Vegas all the time, and this type of scoring has 'never' happened to us before. The fans in the seats know the right way to score a fight, and you could hear it afterwards. They boo'ed Duran and cheered Speedy'. [url] This content is protected [/url] Two-months later in California, Zeferino Gonzalez looked good in winning a 'one-sided' 10-Round Decision over Mexican Welterweight - Jose Figueroa. The victory improved 'Speedy' to 20-3-1 and bumped him up to the #8 WBA Welterweight.
