DOWNEY —Ray Gonzalez of M.V.P. Family Practice and Sports Medicine competed in his first amateur boxing match last Saturday night at the Ontario Convention Center.

Gonzalez, age 50, lost by decision but had “an amazing experience.” Gonzalez, despite the setback, said “it was a great fight and I learned from the experience.”

The first round was even after your typical “feeling out your opponent start.” Gonzalez took the second round when he rocked his opponent with a straight right hand. Gonzalez’s opponent took the third round with a late flurry that led to a standing eight count. The standing eight count proved to be the difference in the fight.

With the setback, Gonzalez was eliminated from the tournament and has no future fight date set at this time. Gonzalez’s opponent was 59 years old and extremely fit. He was a southpaw who stood six feet tall and had the reach advantage. It was his opponent’s amateur debut as well but has worked as one of the boxing instructors at Wildcard Boxing Gym in Los Angeles for the last eight years.

Gonzalez felt good at 165 pounds and will most likely stay at that weight. When asked to critique his performance, Gonzalez said that “he needed to do more cardio work, more road running to help in the later part of the rounds.” Gonzalez believes this is “an essential part of the training program for any boxer” and will remember that moving forward.

As a side note, I think Ray Gonzalez’s experience is awesome and I take my hat off to his effort and competitive spirit. Nice job Doc and good luck in the future.