Angel Gonzalez on facing Yankiel Rivera in Puerto Rico: “It’s going to be epic!”

SAN JUAN, PR – Angel “Set It Off” Gonzalez (14-0, 7 KOs) faces Yankiel “El Doctorcito” Rivera (6-0, 2 KOs) in an all-Puerto Rican clash on December 7 at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The bout is promoted by Matchroom Boxing in association with CES Boxing and will be televised live worldwide on DAZN on a stacked card that begins at 7pm EST.  Tickets on sale here. 

There will be a lot of gold at stake, as the pair battle for Rivera’s WBA Continental Americas and WBO Inter-Continental flyweight titles as well as the vacant WBC Silver FlyweightChampionship.

“It’s a dream come true,” says Gonzalez about fighting for multiple titles in Puerto Rico.  “I feel great about it because I’m Puerto Rican.  It’s my heritage.  I wasn’t born there, but my background is all Puerto Rican. This is a blessing”

While the 31-year-old was born and raised in Hartford, CT, his parents are both Puerto Rican and a lot of his family reside on the island. 

“My dad is from Comerio and my mom’s side is from Ponce,” explains Gonzalez.  “I’ll have family from my dad’s side and a few from my mom’s side there too.  My manager is always at a boxing gym in La Perla, so I’ll have a lot of local support there.”

Gonzalez will need that fanfare when he faces Rivera, a 2020 Olympian based in Toa Alta who is being groomed as the next Puerto Rican star.  While ‘El Doctorcito’ only has 6 pro bouts, he is an experienced amateur who has been matched aggressively thus far.

“He’s an Olympian, so I figure he fought a whole bunch of styles as an amateur,” says Gonzalez when assessing his opponent’s experience.  “I feel like they’re moving him at a fast pace because of that experience, but I have more pro rounds.  I have double the fights and the pros are different from the amateurs, so I have an edge there.”

While each pugilist can make a case as to who is more experienced, ‘Set It Off’ considers the biggest difference between them to be conditioning.

“I think the key difference will be that I get stronger as the rounds go,” asserts Gonzalez, who has been training 3 times a day for this fight. “If you see my last 2 to 3 fights, I just keep getting stronger as the rounds go. When I looked at footage of his last 2 fights, he got winded as the rounds progressed.  He slowed down a whole lot by rounds 7, 8, 9, and 10.”

Indeed, in his last 2 victories, Rivera visibly tired as the rounds progressed.  In fact, in his fight against Andy Dominguez, Yankiel was leading handily until a series of right hands sent him reeling in round 9. Rivera was able to weather the storm, but the fight changed dramatically after that sequence. 

“He’s tough,” admits Gonzalez of Rivera.  “Once you get into the world rankings, you have to fight tough guys, but the winner on December 7 will come down to who boxes smarter.”

While Gonzalez concedes that Rivera has performed well against aggressive fighters so far, he believes Yankiel has not faced the type of style that will make him think throughout a fight.

“The guys that he fought are more come forward fighters,” reasons Gonzalez.  “They don’t move their head as much. I feel like I have a better style: I use my jab coming in and I move, so I’ll give him different looks that he hasn’t seen yet.  That’s where I think my advantage is in this fight.”

While Gonzalez plans to box his way to victory, he’ll have to do so against a quick fighter who likes to switch between orthodox and southpaw stances, which is something the camp has been focused on.

“I’ve dealt with that style,” says Gonzalez of facing a switch-hitting fighter.  “I fought one guy early in my career that would switch. My last fight was against a southpaw and I’ve been sparring more lefties than righties in this camp. A lefty is harder to find, so I’ve been getting great sparring with a lot of gyms coming down to Four Ropes Boxing where I set up camp in Hartford.  I’ve sparred many lefties for this one, including Carlos Perez.  He’s bigger than me, but he’s a great lefty and he’s helped get me ready.”

Other than their fighting stance, the fighters have more similarities than differences.  Both are unbeaten Puerto Rican prospects, gave common opponent Christian Robles his first 2 losses, and each last fought on June 15, so there is no disparity in activity.

“My last fight had a lot to do with this fight happening,” surmises Gonzalez, who beat Josue Morales at Mohegan Sun Arena on June 15 for the vacant NABF Flyweight title.  “It was a great experience.  I’m grateful to the NABF because it catapulted me up the world rankings, but my main goal is to be a world champion. There’s no letting up until I win a world title.”

That world title opportunity is likely to come with a win over Yankiel Rivera on December 7, which is why Angel Gonzalez is not leaving any stone unturned in this camp.

“I’m humble and I never let my guard down,” says Gonzalez about how meticulous his preparation has been.  “I train hard and I’m ready for whatever he comes with. I’m in the best shape of my life and I’m going to go in there, do my best and come out victorious.  It’s going to be an epic fight and you’ll see me become the new WBA, WBO, and WBC Silver Flyweight Champion that night.”