RENO - Darnell Boone is known as a boxer who has gone the distance with a number of quality fighters - Andre Ward, Curtis Stevens and Brian Vera to a name a few - all in losing causes. Add rising middleweight Brandon Gonzales to the list.
Gonzales nearly knocked Boone out in the first round then out-pointed the veteran through much of the final seven rounds on his way to a unanimous decision - 80-71, 78-74, 79-73- Friday night at the Grand Sierra Resort as part of Reno Xtreme Fights III.
"I feel great," Gonzales said after the fight. "We got the rounds in, got eight rounds. That's the longest I've been so far and that's exactly what you need when you go into the bigger fights, 10, 12 rounds. We got it done and I've still got wind left."
Gonzales added to his already stellar record of 11-0 with nine knockouts, but more importantly withstood the biggest test in his young career.
Boone, who couldn't wipe the smile off his face through much of the fight, stood seemingly stunned by the announcement.
"Regardless of what I did, I still got in there in did what I had to do," Boone said. "...They just took it from me. And that's why boxing is the way it is now. They're cowards and they can't take a loss. That's how it is when you got that money behind you."
Gonzales had his chance to end the fight early when he landed a three-punch combo near his own corner that knocked off Boone off balance near the end of the first round. Boone was able to regain control and get out of the round without any more damage.
"He's a crafty veteran," Gonzales said. "I tried to get him up against the ropes, he tried to dig down to the body. He slouched down real low and he survived the rest of the round."
In his Reno debut, Karim Mayfield (12-0-1, 7 KOs) dominated all but one round on his way to a majority decision - 59-55, 58-56, 57-57- over Mario Ramos (17-7, 3 KOs).
The welterweight fighter out of San Francisco, who was recently signed by Northern Nevada's Let's Get It On Promotions, flashed some speed and elusiveness but was never able to give area fans a look at why he is nicknamed "Hard hitta," against the more experienced southpaw.
"I'd give myself a 'C,'" Mayfield said of his performance. "That was my first southpaw in the pros. He's a very durable guy. He handled some very big shots that I was expecting to see him go down from some and he shook them off."
Mayfield appeared hurt in the fourth round as he rested against the ropes for the first time in the fight. After the fight, he admitted that Ramos poked him in the eye.
In the sixth and final round, Mayfield slowed down a little as the 4,500-foot elevation began to wear on him.
In the mixed-martial arts main event, Adam Albright won by submission via the guillotine choke at the 1:30 in the first round over Reno native Josh Turner.