WHILST the featherweight division awaits the explosion of interest that will come with the eventual arrival of super-bantamweight conqueror Naoya Inoue, there are a host of fighters seeking to assume position as a champion and secure a shot at handing the Japanese sensation a first career defeat.
With no clear poster boy at the weight, Ukraine’s Arnold Khegai, 22-1 (14 KOs), could thrust himself into title contention on Saturday night, as he gears up to take on three-time title challenger, Joet Gonzalez, 26-4 (15 KOs), in a stern test that will prove his abilities one way or another.
A 2009 amateur world champion, Khegai fought the majority of his early career in Russia, floating between the super-bantamweight and featherweight divisions, but travelled to the United States thrice before losing his undefeated record when outboxed by Stephen Fulton, who went on to become a unified champion at the weight.
Since then, Khegai has remained in the featherweight division and scored a notable split-decision win over Eduardo Baez in late 2022, Baez coming into that bout fresh off of a knockout loss to Emanuel Navarrete in a bid for the WBO crown.
In the three fights that have followed, ‘Arni’ has strung together three victories inside of the distance for the first time in his career, overcoming Freddy Lainez, Jon Martinez and Belmar Preciado in a trifecta of bouts that each took place in different countries and saw him rise to #2 in the WBO world rankings.
The 32-year-old will now fight back-to-back fights in the same country for just the second time since leaving Russia as he headlines against Gonzalez, who has not won in consecutive outings since 2019, going 3-4 in his last seven contests with three of those shortcomings coming in world title fights.
That run was kickstarted by a wide unanimous decision defeat to Shakur Stevenson for the WBO marble, before Gonzalez bounced back against Miguel Marriaga only to lose another decision to Navarrete in a clash for the same title.
However, the Californian would get back to winning ways by stopping Jeo Santisima, then be trumped in an enthralling fight via split decision against Isaac Dogboe and recover again by outpointing Enrique Vivas, showcasing that he is still a world level operator.
Finally, Gonzalez would last the distance against hard-hitting Mexican Luis Alberto Lopez but ultimately lose another unanimous-decision when challenging for ‘Venado’s’ IBF strap in September 2023.
Now, with 16 months of inactivity to shake off, Gonzalez will return to the 126lb scene in the hopes of a fourth attempt at world honours. Still, the potential ring rust makes him an underdog in the eyes of many and Khegai may well believe he could be the first to overcome Gonzalez without the judges’ intervention.
Khegai-Gonzalez will go ahead as the main attraction of the ProBox TV card on Saturday night, whilst Jamaican-born former world champion, Nicholas Walters, 29-1-1 (22 KOs), returns to action against Mexico’s Luis Torres Valenzuela, 20-1 (11 KOs), in the highlight of the undercard.
