Orlando Gonzalez added another win over the weekend, continuing down a path towards the upper echelon of the 130-pound division.

Gonzalez stopped gatekeeper Jose Santos Gonzalez Friday night at the Coliseo Jose Buga Abreu in Gonzalez’s hometown of Isabela, Puerto Rico. Gonzalez improved to 23-2, 13 knockouts.

Friday night was a stay-busy fight for Gonzalez, who has fought under the ProBox TV banner as of late. Daniel Rubin, who is the Matchmaker and Fighter Relations contact for ProBox TV, believes Gonzalez has a lot of upside and is close to contending amongst the elite of the junior lightweight division.

“(It) was a homecoming fight in his backyard,” Rubin told The Ring on Monday morning. “He hasn’t fought since November of last year. He likes to stay active. He didn’t fight for six months because we were in talks for some bigger fights that just didn’t end up happening.

“(Orlando) would love the opportunity to fight (Eduardo) ‘Rocky’ Hernandez or Andres Cortes. Puerto Rico versus Mexico would be huge. If we can’t get one of those fights, then you will see him back on ProBox TV (in) September or October.”

Gonzalez defeated Jorge Castañeda by split-decision in his last bout on November 29. It was a back and forth fight against the hard-hitting Mexican-American fighter. In his previous fight on July 26 of last year, Gonzalez defeated Ramiro Cesena by unanimous decision.

The 28-year-old has won his last five bouts since a unanimous decision defeat to Misael Lopez in September 2022. Gonzalez’s other loss as a pro came in October 2021, dropping a decision to Robeisy Ramirez.

Santos Gonzalez, who resides in Guadalajara, Mexico, falls to 23-15-1, 13 KOs.

The 33-year-old is winless in his last 12 bouts, including defeats to Ruben Villa, Azat Hovhannisyan, Diego De La Hoya, and Jonathan Lopez.

Junior middleweight Samuel Figueroa of nearby Anasco improved to 13-2, 6 KOs, stopping Jean Carlos Martinez Cabral (6-1, 3 KOs) at 1:03 of the opening round.

The card was promoted by Javier Bustillo, who runs Universal Promotions.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

Follow @FSalazarBoxing