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TWITTER: http://bit.ly/hXUp2Z FACEBOOK BOXING COMMUNITY: http://on.fb.me/gHZDZr Ring magazine fight of the year 1993: Micheal "Manitas de piedra" Carbajal vs. Humberto "Chiquita" Gonzalez When Michael Carbajal, from Phoenix, Arizona, became a professional boxer in 1989, Humberto Gonzalez, from Mexico, was already a seasoned professional. Carbajal's promoter, Bob Arum, told Ring magazine that Carbajal would be the first junior flyweight to earn one million dollars for one fight. Carbajal won the IBF world junior flyweight title in 1990, joining WBC world champion Gonzalez as co-champions of that division. After Carbajal won the title, fan excitement about a possible match between the two began to grow. But Gonzalez lost his title to Rolando Pascua on October of that year, and he had to regain it from Melchor Cob Castro, who took over as champion after beating Pascua. Meanwhile, Carbajal had begun a streak of defenses against a number of important challengers. When Gonzalez regained his WBC belt, he also retained it against a long list of challengers. The fact that both boxers were seemingly on what boxing fans call a "clash course" brought another element of excitement whenever fans would talk about a future match between Carbajal and Gonzalez. Knowing that this was a well talked about match-up, promoter Arum began to work towards making it happen. In what could perhaps be called a rare case of boxing unity, both the WBC and IBF agreed to have their champions fight a unification bout. The date set was March 17, 1993. The fight received much media attention both in the United States and in Latin America, with Carbajal and Gonzalez being featured on the cover of multiple magazines on the months preceding the bout. Arum proved half prophetic in his guess that Carbajal would be the first junior flyweight to earn one million dollars in a fight: Both Carbajal and Gonzalez got a guarantee of one million dollars, after they paid their due fees, and Carbajal-Gonzalez I became the first time in history that a fight fought at the Flyweight division or a smaller one garnered one boxer that amount of money. It was also the first time that a junior flyweight world title bout was shown as the main event of a Pay Per View fight card. The fight took place on the date (March 17, 1993) that it was set for (unlike many major fights that sometimes get postponed). Carbajal and Gonzalez fought that night in front of an estimated number of about 20,000 fans in a Las Vegas hotel parking lot. Among the people watching the fight in person were many Hollywood stars, which is also very rare for a junior flyweight bout. Gonzalez set the pace in round one with his jab and cross, stunning Carbajal as he (Gonzalez) counter-punched. Gonzalez proved very slick for Carbajal, who had trouble finding his rival, but nonetheless, fought back furiously. In round two, a Gonzalez right to Carbajal's chin sent the Arizona native down for a short count. Carbajal started landing stronger punches by round three. But Gonzalez's ability to counter-punch Carbajal's attack seemed to be the factor that would dictate the fight. By the end of the round, Carbajal sported a cut over one of his eyes. Gonzalez and Carbajal kept trading punches in round four, but it was apparent that Gonzalez was faring better than Carbajal. Carbajal's corner team had begun to grow impatient by this point. Gonzalez almost had Carbajal knocked out in round five. Ironically, that round might have been the round that turned the fight in Carbajal's favor. A straight right landed flush on Carbajal's chin, and Carbajal struggled to stay inside the fight's ring as he fell, grabbing to the rope with his left hand. Gonzalez was now eager to finish the fight by knockout, and Carbajal realized he was behind on points so badly, that he had to try to win by knockout as well. Fighting with desperation, Carbajal finally got to Gonzalez, who by now was tired, in round six, connecting strong punches to the head...