title: Julio César González
text: # Julio César González
  
  Julio César González Ibarra (July 30, 1976 – March 10, 2012) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2011, and held the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles from 2003 to 2004.
  
  ## Amateur career
  
  Gonzalez was a member of the 1996 Mexican Olympic team, boxing as a light heavyweight. He was eliminated in the 1st round by eventual gold medalist Vasili Jirov of Kazakhstan.
  
  ## Professional career
  
  He entered the professional boxing ranks in 1997 after a moderately successful amateur career and gradually worked his way through the ranks of the light heavyweight journeymen. He had won his first 21 fights by the time he got his first chance at a boxing title, the regional WBC Fecarbox belt, on May 5, 2000. He defeated unbeaten fellow Mexican Jesus Ruiz on a ninth round technical knockout in Commerce, California.
  
  Gonzalez followed that victory up with five more wins, including a 12-round unanimous decision over Julian Letterlough on February 2, 2001, that won him the regional NABO light heavyweight title - and propelled him into the No. 1 contender's position in several sanctioning bodies' ratings.
  
  As the top contender, he earned a fight with WBC, WBA (Super), & IBF champion Roy Jones Jr. in July 2001, in Los Angeles. Gonzalez went the distance with Jones, but lost a unanimous decision for his first career setback.
  
  He took seven months off after the loss to Jones before resuming his career and running off seven straight wins without a loss. Most notable in his comeback streak was a 10-round majority decision over former world champion Glen Johnson on January 24, 2003.
  
  ### WBO and lineal light heavyweight champion
  
  Gonzalez earned his second shot at a world title on October 18, 2003, when he flew to Hamburg, Germany for a showdown with undefeated Dariusz Michalczewski for the Lineal & WBO light heavyweight championship. Going into the fight, Michalczewski was positioned to tie Rocky Marciano's all-time record of 49 wins and no losses. He also was looking to extend his own world record of 23 straight successful defenses of the light heavyweight title.
  
  In the fight, Gonzalez seemed to take control of the action in the middle rounds, and fought back strongly when Michalczewski, a knockout artist, got him in trouble a few times. When the fight was over, Gonzalez got the verdict on a 12-round split decision; the judge from Germany was the lone dissenter.
  
  Gonzalez lost his title to Zsolt Erdei on January 17, 2004, by unanimous decision.
  
  He challenged Clinton Woods for the IBF light heavyweight title on September 9, 2005, losing by unanimous decision. He met Woods again in a title fight rematch on September 29, 2007. Woods again won the fight by unanimous decision.
  
  In 2008 he was stopped by undefeated prospect Tavoris Cloud.
  
  ## Death
  
  On March 10, 2012, Gonzalez was killed on impact in a motorcycle accident when he was hit by a drunk driver in B.C. Sur, Mexico. The Julio Gonzalez Memorial Foundation was started in his memory.
  
  ## Professional boxing record
  
  | 49 fights | 41 wins | 8 losses |
  | - | - | - |
  | By knockout | 25 | 1 |
  | By decision | 16 | 7 |
  | No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
  | 49 | Loss | 41–8 | Felipe Romero | UD | 12 | Sep 30, 2011 | Gimnasio Auditorio Jorge Campos, La Paz, Mexico | For vacant WBC FECOMBOX cruiserweight title |
  | 48 | Loss | 41–7 | Felipe Romero | UD | 12 | Aug 7, 2010 | Auditorio Alvaro Aguilar, Guerrero Negro, Mexico | For Mexico cruiserweight title |
  | 47 | Loss | 41–6 | Tavoris Cloud | TKO | 10 (12), 1:50 | Aug 8, 2008 | Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
  | 46 | Loss | 41–5 | Reggie Johnson | SD | 12 | Feb 23, 2008 | Sudduth Coliseum, Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. | For vacant IBA light heavyweight title |
  | 45 | Loss | 41–4 | Clinton Woods | UD | 12 | Sep 29, 2007 | Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England | For IBF light heavyweight title |
  | 44 | Win | 41–3 | Vitaly Kopytko | TKO | 3 (10), 2:53 | Nov 16, 2006 | HP Pavilion, San Jose, California, U.S. | |
  | 43 | Win | 40–3 | Rodney Moore | KO | 3 (8), 2:30 | Jul 20, 2006 | Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Lemoore, California, U.S. | |
  | 42 | Win | 39–3 | Jason DeLisle | UD | 12 | Nov 17, 2005 | HP Pavilion, San Jose, California, U.S. | |
  | 41 | Loss | 38–3 | Clinton Woods | UD | 12 | Sep 9, 2005 | Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England | For IBF light heavyweight title |
  | 40 | Win | 38–2 | Montell Griffin | TD | 6 (12), 1:11 | May 5, 2005 | Spa Resort Casino, Palm Springs, California, U.S. | Majority TD after González was cut from an accidental head clash |
  | 39 | Win | 37–2 | David Telesco | TKO | 8 (10), 1:06 | Dec 18, 2004 | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
  | 38 | Win | 36–2 | Orlando Rivera | UD | 10 | May 21, 2004 | Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. | |
  | 37 | Loss | 35–2 | Zsolt Erdei | UD | 12 | Jan 17, 2004 | Dm-Arena, Karlsruhe, Germany | Lost WBO and linear light heavyweight title |
  | 36 | Win | 35–1 | Dariusz Michalczewski | SD | 12 | Oct 18, 2003 | Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany | Won WBO and linear light heavyweight title |
  | 35 | Win | 34–1 | Manu Ntoh | UD | 10 | Jun 6, 2003 | La Villa Real Convention Center, McAllen, Texas, U.S. | |
  | 34 | Win | 33–1 | Kenny Bowman | TKO | 3 (10), 2:58 | Apr 11, 2003 | Sullivan Athletic Center, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
  | 33 | Win | 32–1 | Glen Johnson | MD | 10 | Jan 24, 2003 | Crowne Plaza Hotel, Commerce, California, U.S. | |
  | 32 | Win | 31–1 | Thomas Reid | TKO | 3 (10), 2:53 | Oct 12, 2002 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 31 | Win | 30–1 | Jonathan Young | TKO | 9 (10), 3:00 | Jun 29, 2002 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 30 | Win | 29–1 | Joseph Kiwanuka | TKO | 7 (10) | Apr 27, 2002 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 29 | Win | 28–1 | Tyrone Armstead | TKO | 2 (10), 3:00 | Feb 22, 2002 | Palace Indian Gaming Center, Lemoore, California, U.S. | |
  | 28 | Loss | 27–1 | Roy Jones Jr. | UD | 12 | Jul 28, 2001 | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | For WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, IBO, vacant WBF (Federation) and IBA light heavyweight titles |
  | 27 | Win | 27–0 | Konstantin Semerdjiev | RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | Apr 8, 2001 | Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S. | |
  | 26 | Win | 26–0 | Julian Letterlough | UD | 12 | Feb 2, 2001 | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. | Retained WBC FECARBOX light heavyweight title; Won WBO–NABO and vacant IBA Continental light heavyweight titles |
  | 25 | Win | 25–0 | Jorge Amparo | TKO | 5 (8), 1:00 | Sep 23, 2000 | Convention Center, Ontario, California, U.S. | |
  | 24 | Win | 24–0 | Patrick Swann | RTD | 4 (12), 3:00 | Jul 29, 2000 | Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S. | Retained WBC FECARBOX light heavyweight title |
  | 23 | Win | 23–0 | Tony Menefee | TKO | 4 (10), 2:50 | Jun 22, 2000 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 22 | Win | 22–0 | Jesus Ruiz | TKO | 9 (12) | May 5, 2000 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | Won vacant WBC FECARBOX light heavyweight title |
  | 21 | Win | 21–0 | Dave Boone | KO | 5 (10) | Mar 11, 2000 | Civic Center, Maywood, California, U.S. | |
  | 20 | Win | 20–0 | Gary Campbell | KO | 2 (8) | Dec 3, 1999 | Pechanga Resert & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S. | |
  | 19 | Win | 19–0 | Wilson Smith | TKO | 3 (8), 1:59 | Oct 4, 1999 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 18 | Win | 18–0 | Akinobu Yamamura | TKO | 3 (8), 1:19 | Jul 31, 1999 | Rainbow Hall, Nagoya, Japan | |
  | 17 | Win | 17–0 | Reggie Roberts | UD | 8 | Jun 21, 1999 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
  | 16 | Win | 16–0 | Francisco Barra | KO | 3 (8) | May 14, 1999 | Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S. | |
  | 15 | Win | 15–0 | Paul Jones | KO | 2 (6), 0:44 | Mar 8, 1999 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 14 | Win | 14–0 | Gustavo Enriquez | UD | 6 | Dec 7, 1998 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
  | 13 | Win | 13–0 | Charles Davis | MD | 6 | Sep 26, 1998 | Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S. | |
  | 12 | Win | 12–0 | Derrick Edwards | UD | 6 | Jul 20, 1998 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
  | 11 | Win | 11–0 | Aljenon DeBose | KO | 4 (6) | Jul 11, 1998 | Long Beach, California, U.S. | |
  | 10 | Win | 10–0 | Calvin Combs | TKO | 5 (6) | May 28, 1998 | Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S. | |
  | 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jude Agu | UD | 6 | Mar 26, 1998 | Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S. | |
  | 8 | Win | 8–0 | Nathaniel Miles | UD | 6 | Feb 23, 1998 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
  | 7 | Win | 7–0 | Zaire Patterson | UD | 4 | Dec 8, 1997 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
  | 6 | Win | 6–0 | James Brock | KO | 2 (4) | Sep 29, 1997 | Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. | |
  | 5 | Win | 5–0 | Charles Jefferson | UD | 4 | Aug 11, 1997 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 4 | Win | 4–0 | Robert Rios | TKO | 1 (4) | Jun 27, 1997 | Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S. | |
  | 3 | Win | 3–0 | James Brock | KO | 1 (4) | Jun 9, 1997 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  | 2 | Win | 2–0 | Alex Federov | TKO | 2 (4) | May 30, 1997 | Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California, U.S. | |
  | 1 | Win | 1–0 | Alex Federov | UD | 4 | Apr 7, 1997 | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, U.S. | |
  