Olympic boxing hopeful decides to turn pro

PHOENIX (AP) -- Jesus Gonzales, touted as the best fighter to come out of Phoenix since Michael Carbajal, turned his back on a possible 2004 Olympic berth to turn pro.
Top Rank founder Bob Arum said Wednesday that Gonzales will debut July 25 in Phoenix and will receive national exposure in his second bout -- on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya super welterweight title rematch Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.
The fighter, whose middle name is Ernesto, also announced that he will go by Jesus Gonzales as a pro. He was billed as Ernie Gonzales Jr. throughout his amateur career.
"When we looked at the panorama of fighters in the amateur ranks, we felt Jesus had the potential to make the biggest mark in professional boxing," Arum said. "We're going to put him with fighters where he's going to learn something every fight."
The 18-year-old Gonzales said disgust with the International Olympic Committee and USA Boxing led him to sign with Top Rank. He cited his experience with Clarence Joseph as an example -- he beat Joseph 29-7 in a warm-up to the U.S. Championships in March, but dropped a 5-0 decision to him in the national Golden Gloves final May 31 in Las Vegas after his father complained about the quality of USA Boxing coaches.
It was the third controversial loss on points for Gonzales (151-9) since the IOC eliminated the 156-pound weight class a year ago, forcing him to squeeze into a new 152-pound class or slug it out with 165-pounders like Joseph.