Barriga gets title shot at Puerto Rican champ’s WBO belt in June
Mark Anthony Barriga and Jonathan Gonzales | Boxrec photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former Olympian Mark Anthony “Da Baby Boy” Barriga gets another crack at a world title as he takes on the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) World light flyweight champion Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzales of Puerto Rico on June 24, 2022 in Kissimmee, Florida.
The 28-year-old Barriga, who first fought for a world title in 2018, will try his luck anew by taking on the more favored Gonzales who will make his second title defense.
Barriga of Panabo City, Davao del Norte was popularly known by Filipinos after reaching the round of 16 in the boxing event of the 2012 London Olympics. After that, he went on winning the gold medal of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games and the bronze medal in the 2014 Incheon Games.
In 2016, Barriga barged into the professional scene with a six-rounder unanimous decision victory against Melvin Manangquil. He went on a nine-fight winning streak before losing to Carlos Licona of Mexico in his first world title bout which pitted him against the Mexican for the vacant IBF world minimumweight title in 2018.
Barriga lost by split decision after two judges favored Licona with the scores of 115-113, while one judge Tom Carusone saw Barriga winning at 115-113.
After losing to Licona, Barriga returned into action and piled back-to-back victories against Junuel Lacar and Ramel Antaran. He now has a record of 11 wins with two knockouts and one defeat.
Meanwhile, Gonzales is the more dangerous boxer between him and Barriga. The 31-year-old Puerto Rican sports a record of 25-3-1 (win-loss-draw) with 14 knockouts. He won the WBO world light flyweight title against Elwin Soto of Mexico via split decision in October 2021 in Fresno, California.
Prior to that, he fought Armando Torres and won the WBO NABO light flyweight strap. In terms of experience, Gonzales has the upper hand over Barriga. He fought top-caliber opponents such as former world champions Kosei Tanaka of Japan and Giovani Segura.
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