Gonzales Gets Quick Title Shot

Paul Gonzales was the last member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic boxing team to turn pro, but next Sunday, after only two pro fights, he will be the first to fight for a championship. The East Los Angeles flyweight will box North American champion Alonzo Strongbow of Sepulveda in a 12-rounder at the Hollywood Palladium.

As a 106-pounder, Gonzales was the light-flyweight gold medalist at the Olympics, even though he fought with a broken hand throughout the tournament. He was also awarded the trophy as outstanding boxer of the Olympics. He didn’t turn pro until last summer, after giving his right hand a full year to heal, and has only a 2-0 record. Strongbow, the North American Boxing Federation champion, is 19-9-1.

Henry Tillman, the Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, also will box on the Palladium card, meeting Sylvester Lee in an eight-rounder. Both are from Los Angeles. Lee never boxed as an amateur and has a 6-3 record.

The card will be televised by CBS, beginning with Tillman-Lee, at 11 a.m. CBS’ boxing coordinator, Morton Sharnik, said that the network doesn’t believe that little boxers won’t sell on TV. Gonzales and Strongbow will each weigh 112 pounds.

“Teddy Brenner (once Madison Square Garden’s matchmaker) called me several weeks ago, and when I told him we were doing a Gonzales bout, he told me: ‘You’re a brave man,’ ” Sharnik said. “He told me to never put anything on TV smaller than featherweights. ‘America doesn’t buy little guys,’ he told me.

“We disagree, obviously. We think America will buy Paul Gonzales.”

Gonzales will earn about $35,000 from Sunday’s show, one of the biggest purses ever earned in the United States by a flyweight. Strongbow will make $7,500.

Sharnik said that he had tried to urge Gonzales to be patient. “Paul wanted this title fight,” he said. “I tried to tell Paul that maybe he needed a few more fights before he’d be ready for a boxer of Strongbow’s experience. But he told me: ‘No, I’m a young guy in a hurry, and I’ve got a lot to do.’ ”

Gonzales is bypassing 10-rounders and going directly to a 12-round fight. His longest outing so far was an eight-round decision over Joey Roach last month.

Lee, Tillman’s opponent, is 6-3. He says that Tillman will become the first Olympic team member to lose Sunday.