| |
5'3" Delia "Chikita" Gonzalez from Chamberino, New Mexico
was born on November 18, 1970. She made her pro debut
at age 21 and she won the WIBF World Bantamweight title in Las
Vegas in 1995.
Delia grew up in Chamberino (pop. 5000) a town
midway between the larger cities of Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas.
She began boxing at age 11 when her
father, a former amateur boxer, took her to the San Juan Boxing Gym
in nearby El Paso. The gym had a sign saying 'NO FEMALES ALLOWED'.
By her second day there, the sign was gone.
Delia trained for eleven years under her father's guidance,
at gyms in both El Paso and Las Cruces, then made her pro bout
against Lucy Tellez of Houston, Texas in El Paso on
September 26, 1992. Delia told reporters before the fight
"I can't believe that I'm actually going to fight
another woman ... after 11 years of only sparring against guys in the gym, I'm
finally realizing my dream for so many years."
Delia won the four-rounder and said
"I loved it; I want to do it again!"
Her second bout was against Helga Risoy
in Las Vegas on August 3, 1993. She fought Risoy, a Norwegian boxer
who lived in Las Vegas, to a draw over four rounds. Delia tells me "I felt I won.
What I'll
always remember is asking Joe Frazier for his autograph and him stating to me that
I had won the fight and that he loved my defense, the way I was moving to fight Risoy
inside. But one thing I'll tell you ... Risoy had the hardest right of all my
opponents. The first time she collected me with that hard right she made me
dance. But I always rely on my defense to get out me out of trouble. I love
using defense. It's one of my first tactics I learned, and I still practice
it a lot. I always say and think that fighters last more in the business if
they don't get hit a lot."
On August 28, 1993 in El Paso, Texas, Gonzalez won by
a third round TKO over Gloria Ramirez of Sunland, New Mexico.
On March 26, 1994 in El Paso, Delia won a four-round rematch with Gloria
Ramirez by a unanimous decision.
On May 14, 1994, in El Paso, Gonzalez won a four-round
unanimous decision over Patricia Otero of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
On June 25, 1994, in El Paso, Delia won a four-round unanimous decision over
Carole Stinson of Odessa, Texas.
On July 22, 1994 she suffered her first defeat when she lost to Helga
Risoy by a sixth-round knockout in Las Vegas.
Fans who see Delia Gonzalez fighting today as a flyweight
may find it hard to believe that she was ever matched against the WIBF world
welterweight champion in Risoy ... but this was a sign of the times and of
Delia's determination to box no matter what the odds. Delia explained to
me that in these early fights she needed to keep her weight
near 130-135 lbs to get opponents, and that for most of them
she barely stepped into the ring at 128.
"Since I was too small in weight and height compared to most of my seven first
opponents, the people would refer to me as small or tiny ...
after hearing this so many times, I adopted my nickname 'Chikita'
meaning tiny, small".
On the WIBF all-female card at the Aladdin in Las Vegas on on April 20, 1995,
Delia fought the experienced Dutch kickboxer Fienie Klee over ten rounds for the WIBF
Bantamweight title. This fight (pictured at right) was a classic matchup between
Gonzalez's boxing skills and jab against Klee's stand-up kickboxing style.
Gonzalez, this time the more practiced boxer fighting at her natural weight, worked
effectively against Klee and earned a clear unanimous decision for the
world title. This was a good competitive fight, applauded by an enthusiastic crowd.
On July 13, 1995 in Brownsville, Texas,
she won a six-round decision over Anissa Zamarron of
Austin, Texas.
On June 1, 1996, back in Las Vegas, Nevada, she fought a four-round technical draw with
Yvonne Trevino of Peoria, Arizona.
Gonzalez suffered a broken nose from an accidental head-butt by Yvonne in
the opening of the fourth round, and the fight was stopped by the fight doctor.
On 30 August 1996, Delia won a 10-round decision over Anissa Zamarron in a rematch of
her 1995 win over the Texan.
On June 6, 1997 at the Convention Center in Ruidoso, New
Mexico, she TKO'd Concepcion Segovia in the first round.
On August 29, 1997, in El Paso, Texas, Delia TKO'd Tina Speakman of Atlanta,
Georgia in the third round.
On October 24, 1997 in Lula, Mississippi, she lost a six-round unanimous decision to
Eva Jones Young.
On September 17, 1998 at the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, Delia fought
Jolene Blackshear for the IFBA Flyweight title,
losing by a unanimous 10-round decision
before an estimated crowd of 1,200. Judge Paul Cita had Blackshear ahead 96-95,
Freddie Steinwinder III had the bout 98-93 and C.B. Jenkins scored the bout in favor
of Blackshear 97-93. Blackshear got off to a fast start as usual relying on her jab
and a right uppercut through the first four round. Gonzalez began a comeback in the
fifth, using her jab to keep Blackshear off balance. Jolene had to come on stronger
in the ninth and tenth to secure the win. Blackshear praised Gonzalez after the
bout, saying "This was the classiest fight of my career. Gonzalez fights clean and is
a good technician." Gonzalez fell to 10-3-2 with the loss.
Delia battles Yvonne Trevino in Las Vegas
© Copyrighted photo taken by Mary Ann Owen On April 16, 1999 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, Delia (111 lbs) lost a
hard-fought six-round unanimous decision to Yvonne Trevino
(112 lbs) of Peoria, Arizona. Delia got a very bloody nose in this bout but still
engaged Yvonne in a rousing battle. The win ended a tough losing streak for Trevino (to
Bridgett Riley, Para Draine and
Kathy Williams and moved her pro record to 8-4-1 as she dropped Delia's to 10-4-2.
Delia (108 lbs) got another shot at a world title on December 3, 1999 at the Pechanga
Center in Temecula, California when she faced veteran kickboxer
Kim Messer (108 lbs) of Bellevue,
Washington for the vacant IFBA Junior Flyweight title. Unfortunately, the scheduled
ten-rounder was stopped and declared a technical draw mid-way through the third round
when Gonzalez suffered an eye injury from an accidental clash of heads. Gonzalez was
taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and the title remained vacant. Messer moved
to 7-2-1 as a pro boxer, while Gonzalez's record was now 10-4-3. Delia tells me
"This is one fight that deserves a rematch. This is what I call unfinished business."
On May 13, 2000 at Sartory Säle in Köln, Germany, WIBF Junior Flyweight champion Regina Halmich (111 lbs) of Karlsruhe, Germany moved her
record to 32-1 in a hard-fought ten round battle with Delia, who had weighed in at 109
lbs. Halmich won by a majority (98-95,96-94, 96-96) decision. Gonzalez was very
aggressive and Halmich needed all her boxing skills and speed to keep her at bay.
Gonzalez showed she had more power while Halmich had faster hands but found it
difficult to maintain her usual punching accuracy against Delia's defense. The fight
turned into a war in the later rounds. Gonzalez was cut over her left eye in round
eight but this did not stop her coming forward to challenge the champion until the
final bell of an excellent and hard-fought bout. Regina repeatedly told her coach
between rounds that she didn't know what to do about Gonzalez and she ended the bout
noticeably bruised after what was perhaps her toughest title defense. Gonzalez fell to
10-5-3 with the loss. (There's more about this fight in Delia's interview, and an independent
view of it in Jon Fox's Round-by-Round Report which scored it for Gonzalez by
96-94!)
On August 12, 2000 at Ohkay Casino Dome in San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico,
Jayla Ortiz won
a six-round (58-57,58-57,58-56) decision over Delia in an exhibition bout that will not
go into either fighter's official record. Gonzalez accepted the fight on that
condition because she filled in at the last minute (on the evening of August 11th!).
Delia tells me the circumstances around this fight were one of her worst experiences
in boxing (see her interview) On November 25, 2000 at the Bulldog Pit in Artesia, New Mexico,
Delia (114 lbs) moved to 11-5-3 with a six-round unanimous decision over Imelda
Arias (128 lbs) of Juárez, Mexico, who fell to 8-8. Gonzalez kept the
heavier Arias off her with quick jabs and rights, and used her speed to outbox Arias
from the outside, winning every round on the scorecards.
On April 12, 2001 at Jacob Brown Auditorium in Brownsville, Texas, a crowd of 1,844 at
the Miller Lite Texas Title Belt Series got their money's worth as Delia fought
Kathy Williams of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada for the
Texas 113-lb title in the Main Event.
Williams won an eight-round unanimous decision and moved her pro record to
13-3-0 (4 KO's) while Gonzalez slipped to 11-6-3 (3 KO's). Delia told me
"Kathy Williams is a fighter I wasn't going to give a lot of
weight advantage. I say the fight was fought by two experienced fighters.
I wouldn't let Kathy do much at the outside, and she wouldn't let me do much inside.
Unlike my other fights, I was more aggressive than a boxer. Kathy had the weight and
reach advantages and we decided to be aggressive and fight inside. I used a lot of
movement and defense to keep myself inside and avoided getting hit at
Williams reach. I thought Kathy was going to be more aggressive. Instead, she
pushed me down and held me when I was inside. She seem to be waiting for
me to step in and connect me with her left hand, which I noticed and avoided.
But Williams is a strong fighter with good skills."
On February 1, 2002 at Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona,
Delia (112 lbs) and Yolanda Gonzalez (113 lbs) of Newark, New Jersey fought to a majority draw.
Delia G. is now 12-7-4 (3 KO) while Yolanda G. is
7-3-1 (3 KO). Yolanda Gonzalez's handlers later reported that she had broken the fifth metacarpal
bone in her left hand when she hit Delia with a left hook in the opening round of this fight, and
Delia has offered Yolanda a rematch.
Delia fights Wendy Rodriguez in Las Vegas
© Copyrighted photo by Mary Ann Owen On April 27, 2002 at Stratosphere Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada,
Wendy Rodriguez (110 lbs) of Los Angeles, California
advanced to 8-1-3 (1 KO) with a six-round (57-57,58-56,59-55) majority decision over
Delia (108½ lbs).
The contest saw the taller and more experienced Gonzalez try to keep Rodriguez away with her jab while
Rodriguez wanted to work inside to bang the veteran's body. Rodriguez was more successful in the second
and third rounds while Gonzalez looked stronger and landed well in the fifth and sixth. Many at
ringside were unhappy with the judges' decision for Rodriguez after what was a close technical fight
between two very capable boxers.
On May 17, 2002 in Austin, Texas, Delia
(110 lbs) won a six-round
unanimous decision over
Juana (Jay) Vega (111¾ lbs) of Austin after a crowd-pleasing
toe-to-toe slugfest that was the first loss for the Texan.
Gonzalez advanced to 12-7-4 (3 KO) while Vega slipped to
5-1-0 (1 KO).
On June 21, 2002 at the Convention Center in Waco, Texas,
Delia (111¾ lbs) won a hard-fought six-round unanimous (59-55,59-55,59-55)
decision over Yolanda Gonzalez (112¾ lbs) of Newark, New Jersey.
Yolanda G. went to the canvas in the final round of this junior bantamweight bout.
Yolanda G. slipped to 7-4-1 (3 KO) eith the loss; they had fought to a majority draw in
Phoenix on February 1.
On November 20, 2002 at Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, Mary Elizabeth Ortega
(117 lbs) of Kansas City won a ten-round unanimous decision over Delia
(115 lbs) in a bout intended to decide the WIBA Americas Super Flyweight (i.e. Junior Bantamweight) title, although
Ortega did not make the required weight limit. Ortega improved to 21-1-1 (5 KO). Gonzalez's team were unhappy with the
latitude given to Ortega in her home town about not making the agreed weight for the bout, and with the WIBA awarding the
title belt to Ortega after the bout despite this.
On June 28, 2003 at Coconut Creek Casino, in Miami, Florida, Ada Velez (118 lbs) of Puerto Rico won the vacant WIBA Bantamweight title
when Delia (114½ lbs) was disqualified for excessive holding at 1:25 in the seventh round. Gonzalez had had two
points deducted by referee Armando Garcia in the earlier rounds. Velez improved to 14-1-1 (6 KO) while Gonzalez slipped to
13-9-4 (3 KO). This was the second time in a row that Armando Garcia had disqualified a Velez opponent for excessive
holding ... he threw Leona Brown out of a fight with Velez on March 29, 2003.
On May 15, 2004 at Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso, Texas, Delia
(110 lbs) fought to a six-round majority draw with Johanna Peña Álvarez
(111 lbs) of the Dominican Republic. The scorecards were 57-57, 57-57, and 59-55
for Peña Álvarez. Peña Álvarez successfully kept to the outside and made it
difficult for Gonzalez to get into scoring range. Ricardo Trujillo of New
Mexico Boxing
wrote:
"The much-anticipated female flyweight fight between former between world
champion Delia “Chikita” Gonzalez and Joanna Pena was a dud. No fireworks
materialized as neither fighter was able to mount an effective attack. The low
crouching style of Pena befuddled Gonzalez from the first round on. Southpaw
Pena used her right jab to keep Gonzalez away not allowing the shorter Gonzalez
to dig to the body where she could slow down the Dominican. Unable to cut off
the ring, Gonzalez threw wild punches that missed their mark to the retreating
Pena. Credit should be given to Gonzalez, however, for trying to make a fight of
it—but she could not stop Pena’s movement and pin her against the ropes to wail
away."
 Looking at her career in 2002, Delia said "I feel that I've only lost three out of my six
defeats. And one of them that I truly recognize was the rematch to Yvonne
Trevino. Lately, I've been observing that the judges and commentators are
trying more to please the promoters or promoter's fighters than doing their
jobs."
"Boxing is in me and it's in my family", she told the Las Cruces Sun-News
in an interview. "My father has been tremendous for me and has helped my career so much.
It's great being able to work with my dad and I trust him all the way. He knows what's
best for me, what my strengths are and my weaknesses."
Gonzalez is the epitome of the independent female boxer who is dedicated to her craft and
has taken on the best in the world ... Risoy, Zamarron, Trevino, Jones-Young, Messer,
Blackshear, Halmich, Williams ... often for painfully small purses. The highest payday
of her career was for her ten-round war with Regina Halmich, for which she received $6,000.
Delia's sharply, and I believe rightly, critical of fighters who "don't even have the confidence to fight outside their
territories nor against quality, qualified boxers in their divisions. I think this is ridiculous", she told me.
"The judges and the promoters aren't doing any good to
these fighters. It's a shame that this has been seen a lot lately, in both male
and male and female boxing. Or maybe it has been this way all the time, but you notice it
when it happens to you! Personally, there are times that I want to retire when I know I won a
fight and don't get the credit for it. But my retirement only lasts a few hours!
My passion for boxing is bigger than the politics in boxing. It doesn't
take me a whole day to decide to continue, to stick with it. I know that there
are many fighters out there in the same situation. I want to remind them,
like I remind myself, with a saying that says A fighter makes the title,
not the title makes the fighter."
The El Paso Hall of Fame added Delia to its roster at its annual banquet at the
Elks Lodge Ballroom on Nov. 14, 2003, recognizing her success as a professional
boxer.
Page last updated:
Saturday November 12, 2022 |
|
