Upset of the Year Jason Sanchez over Julian Gonzales

Albuquerque's Jason Sanchez, one of New Mexico's warriors and former world title challenger, had an uphill battle, not that he wasn't worthy of taking on unbeaten Julian Gonzales in his hometown of Philadelphia.

Sanchez had to deal with outside issues with the commission and had some glove issues.

Sanchez defeated unbeaten hometown fighter Julian Gonzales (16-1-1) with a split decision in Philadelphia, PA. The scores were 77-75 for Gonzales and 76-75 on two of the judges' scorecards, giving Sanchez his 17th win against 6 losses.

Gonzales had the upper hand in the first three rounds, landing left hooks to the side of Sanchez's head. He landed one right before the bell in round three that admittedly hurt Sanchez.

"He hurt me twice with the left hook. I knew I needed to protect myself better, but yes, he hurt me a few times," said Sanchez.

Sanchez picked it up in round four with body shots and left hooks to the head. It seemed Gonzales was taken aback by Sanchez's aggression.

Round five made the difference in the outcome of the fight. Midway through the round, Sanchez landed a left hook to Gonzales's body, sending him to the canvas for an 8 count and giving Sanchez a 10-8 round.

From this point, Sanchez used his experience to take control. He continued to land hard body shots, and at times, had Gonzales pedaling back. Sanchez was in more control from this point on.

Gonzales had his moments, but it was Sanchez's will to win on the road that set him up for bigger fights down the road.

"This was an important fight for me. I knew if I won, it would open more doors for me in the future," said Sanchez.

Prior to the fight, Sanchez and his team faced some controversy.

At the weigh-ins, Sanchez hit the scales at the 130 mark. Gonzales was a pound and 6 oz over. Sanchez went to put on his clothes after seeing Gonzales's weight. By the time he got dressed, Gonzales had left.

Team Sanchez then spoke to Kings Promotions about the overage and what the next step was. He was told by the promoter that it would be $100.00 per pound as compensation.

"The promoter told me it's $100.00 a pound if over," stated Sanchez.

After speaking to his trainer Steve Garcia and his wife Marlina, Sanchez's team spoke to the commission, where they were told Gonzales would be penalized $600.00 total, $200.00 to the commission, and $400.00 to Sanchez.

"We never saw Gonzales weigh in to make weight as we were told he left and had an hour to lose," said Sanchez. "We were told by the promoter through a phone call that he made weight, but we never saw it."

Another issue Sanchez and his team wanted to bring up was the gloves. Sanchez was given old Grant gloves, and his opponent's gloves were looked at by Sanchez's team and were used and had softened padding.

"I have never been in a fight where the gloves were new for a main event. It was odd to see his gloves and all the wear and tear on them," said Sanchez.

Sanchez and his team stated they were not going to use those gloves due to being used prior. Gonzales's team didn't have an argument to use any other gloves but the ones he was given.

During the mini fiasco, Sanchez was given brand new gloves by someone who had overheard the issue being brought up.

"We were lucky to have the guy have the new gloves in the packaging. I was still a little worried about his gloves. A few times he hit me, it didn't feel like a normal glove hit me," said Sanchez.

Team Sanchez is only speaking out to prevent this from happening to others in the future.

"We just want fighters to be aware of gloves and if someone is overweight, to have your team look at it and speak to the commission to make sure you're treated fairly," said Sanchez.

It looks like Sanchez won three times on Friday.