Five minutes and 16 seconds was enough time to clear all doubts. Gabriel Maestre is not only ready for professional boxing, but has the strength to stand out in the professional field. He demonstrated it with a knockout in the second round against Jeovanis Barraza at the Coliseo Baby Sugar Rojas in Barranquilla.
The situation for the newcomer Maestre was very hard. He became the WBA-Fedebol Champion of the Super Welter division against a hitherto undefeated fighter in 20 fights (14 by knockout) in front the ESPN KnockOut cameras throughout Latin America.
His experience in the amateur field was revealed. The “Captain” came out cautiously in regards to the strategy of waiting to see how “Meke” came out, but it did not take too long to realize his superiority and launch an assault on the Colombian.
Barraza stood with a closed guard in front of Maestre trusting his strength. However, the power of Maestre had the Barranquillero native vanished before Maestre, who was faster, more forceful and in short, better on this night.
Two straight runs in the second round sent a Barraza to the canvas, as he lowered his head to try to defend himself. Being a very brave man, he got up, but Maestre was not willing to allow him to recover and sent him to the ropes where he punished him further. Although it he rose again, a combination of three punches left no alternative to referee Guillermo Perez Pineda, who interceded to stop the action at 2:16 minutes of the round.
“All the grace I give to God. Thanks to the people of Barranquilla. I thought it was not going to be easy and I did not think the knockout was going to come so fast. This victory goes to God and to Venezuela,” said Maestre.
“Thanks to Gilberto Jesus Mendoza for the opportunity. Since 2012 I have been saying that I had the potential, that I would make the jump, but it was now that the decision was made and I am happy with the support that he has given me. As they say, God’s time is perfect,” he continued.
Professional and amateur integration will now allow Maestre to attend Peru for the Pan American Games this month and continue with his actions in both branches.
