Gonzales Hopes to Put Bad Breaks Behind Him Tonight Against Diaz

Paul Gonzales, the East Los Angeles flyweight who has spent more time fighting frustration than rivals, doesn’t use the word.

But he hears it whispered by others.

Jinxed?

His stick shift Corvette takes off with him half-in, half-out, runs over his ankle and heal, breaking both and trapping him underneath for 20 minutes.

Jinxed ?

His bicycle hits a rock while he peddles down the Los Angeles River, breaking his hip.

Jinxed?

“These days, I’m not even talking while I skip rope because I might trip,” Gonzales said of his recent misfortunes.

And then there was the 12-round decision he lost to Texan Raymond Medel on June 17 in San Antonio before a hostile crowd, a fight scored by a panel of judges from Texas. As far as Gonzales is concerned, that loss, his first as a pro, was as much of a mistake as the accidents that have plagued him since he turned pro after winning a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

“I was robbed, and I’m out to prove it was just a fluke,” Gonzales said.

Tonight, Gonzales, 8-1 and ranked fourth in the world by the World Boxing Council, gets that chance in a scheduled 10-round, 115-pound bout with Javier (Suzuki) Diaz (22-8-1) at the Irvine Marriott. The fight will follow a preliminary featherweight card between Genaro Hernandez (14-0) of Los Angeles and Jose Mosqueda (22-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale this morning at the hotel.

Just how big this fight is to Gonzales, the 1984 Olympic boxing star who couldn’t miss but has, is a matter of debate even within his camp. “Not make or break,” the fighter said, “but it’s important to me to prove something.” His manager, Al Stankie, calls it “so big for him to get back on track.”

Both fighter and manager see this fight, Gonzales’ third in three months after several months of inactivity caused by injury, as the last step before a title bout.

“I want to be a champion,” Gonzales said. “I’m looking for a world title, and that’s all that matters to me right now. This little slump didn’t do nothing for Paul Gonzales but make him hungry.”

Hungry, most of all, to remove the bad taste of the loss to Medel.

“That really did a number on me,” Gonzales said. “If I’d gotten beat, it’d be a different story. But I was robbed. First of all, it’s always tough to go into a guy’s hometown like that and have a fair fight. And I didn’t know until afterward that all the judges were from Texas.

“If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have gone into the ring. I wouldn’t have cared if they’d suspended me. I wouldn’t have gone out there if I’d known. But I didn’t know, and I got ripped off.”

Stankie said the loss left psychological scars on his fighter that only an uncontested victory can remove.

“It was really traumatic,” Stankie said. “That’s what makes this fight big. The kid thinks of himself as a champ, as all fighters should. I think he’s going to show what he’s made of in this fight. There’s no way he’s going to lose this one.”

The fight, Gonzales’ first in Southern California since he decisioned Jose Ortega on May 23 at Irvine, will be a contrast of size and style. At 5-feet 9-inches, Gonzales is nine inches taller than Diaz.

“A bullfight between Gonzales the matador and Diaz the bull,” Stankie said.

Gonzales’ strategy is to keep his opponent at arm’s length, using his superior reach to jab away, and to keep the fight in the center of the ring. Stankie said Diaz must stay in Gonzales’ face so he can pound him with enough body blows to wear him down.

“(Diaz) is a little banger,” Stankie said. “He’s a tough little bull. What Paul’s got to do is jab at a distance, like a matador. (Diaz) will want to take the fight to the ropes, but Paul can’t let that happen. If that happens, Paul’s in trouble.”

Gonzales said he will stay mobile.

“I’m a matador,” Gonzales said. “I will use my mind. I will walk in and out and take my best shots. I won’t stand in there and let him bang on me.”

Stankie said Diaz poses a good challenge for his fighter.

“After all this tough luck, we’ve had three fights in three months, and that’s the kind of pace we want,” Stankie said. “If you don’t fight, as he didn’t for so long, you get ring rust. But he’s over that now. He’s sharp because of all the activity. After he wins this one, we’re going to get him a title bout.”