PLEASANTON, Calif. – Sergio Gonzalez has lofty ambitions as a pro despite his limited amateur career.

Fresh off a first-round stoppage of Tyre Travon Reed this past Saturday at Alameda County Fairgrounds, Gonzalez is already lined up for his next assignment. The 23-year-old Sacramento-bred rookie will return on September 6 in a four-round bout as a part of Nasser Niavaroni’s Uppercut Promotions in nearby Lincoln, California.

An aspiring junior middleweight, Gonzalez, 2-0 (2 KOs), will enter his third pro fight inside six months, after just 18 amateur fights. What he lacks in deep experience, he makes up for in confidence.

“I'm just building my record up, entertaining the crowd, and knocking these fools out in the beginning so I can get promotional companies to look at me,” Gonzalez told BoxingScene.

Gonzalez has been touted by head trainer Marcus Caballero as the hardest puncher he has ever trained – harder even than local legend Pedro Moreno, 12-0 (7 KOs), who was known for his power. 

“I have three losses as an amateur, but I have like five knockouts,” Gonzalez said. “I won the Golden Glove State Championship in 2023. I went to Philadelphia. Fought at Nationals.”

“I was born into a boxing family,” Gonzalez said. “I grew up around boxers.”

His father, Javier Gonzalez, was a boxer, as was his uncle, Sergio. 

Gonzalez always viewed himself as a natural with boxing in his genes.

“I just grew up around it, so I just picked it up and became good at it,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been boxing my whole life, but I started taking it seriously and competing at 15.”

Las Vegas’ Reed, 0-1 (0 KOs), was perceived as a risky fight for the boxing novice.

Gonzalez’s first taste of adversity came during the pre-fight weigh-in when he struggled at the scales but ultimately made the contracted limit. Reed made a point to talk trash in his direction, eager to test the mettle of a fighter who is still learning on the job.

Gonzalez pushed past all of it and made Reed pay the price where it matters most – in the ring. He scored the bout’s only knockdown, shortly before the fight was called off by the referee.

“I always say this is just the beginning,” Gonzalez told BoxingScene after his knockout win Saturday. “I am 2-0 with two knockouts. I already knew this was going to happen. 

“It wasn't really a knockout. The referee just called it, but I wish it went longer because of all the smack he was talking, but it's all good.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.