Gongora had been in Boston when the pandemic hit, but had already returned to his home in Napo, Ecuador when the fight was offered. Despite those circumstances, and moving up in weight, Gongora accepted the fight because he was promised big opportunities if he wins, said Bermudez.
Win or lose, Bermudez believes Gongora has world championship potential, particularly at his more natural weight of 160.
Ecuador has never produced a world champion in boxing, and the closest the country came was in 1994, when Mercado knocked down Bernard Hopkins twice in a vie for the vacant IBF middleweight title in the capital city of Quito. The fight was declared a draw, and Hopkins stopped him in seven rounds in a rematch the following year.
Gongora wants to finish what his uncle started and be the first from his country to lift a world championship over his head.
“I do it for the Ecuadorian people, to have a legacy in Ecuador,” said Gongora.