(Andrew Potter / Salita Promotions)
Boxing has long been called the theater of the unexpected, and for light heavyweight contender Atif Oberlton, he learned that adage firsthand in his most recent bout.
Oberlton will return Saturday against Carlos Gongora at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Oberlton, 15-0 (13 KOs), who fought in the co-feature of the Claressa Shields versus Franchon Crews-Dezurn card, expected to make a statement in Detroit and announce himself in the division. But after he turned in a brilliant and dominant first round, his opponent – Joseph George – collapsed in the corner.
“As I am getting water and the game plan, getting ready to go into the next round, I saw him fall over and off the stool,” Oberlton told BoxingScene. “I tapped my coach, and he looked confused as well.”
The moment was surreal. The 27-year-old Oberlton instantly went from seeking to pound out George, a 36-year-old Houston, to checking on his well-being.
“As I walked over, I saw him start to shake a bit, and that’s why I got on my knees,” Oberlton said. “I said a silent prayer for him. It was a scary thing and a bizarre thing. I had never seen anything like it in boxing.”
Oberlton, who is from Philadelphia but now trains with Tom Yankello outside of the city, was a silver medalist at the 2020 Olympic Trials and had some of his early professional bouts televised on FOX Sports. Since then, he has built himself into a title contender without notable television appearances.
The George bout was to symbolize a new chapter in his career. Oberlton was reemerging in front of a national audience as a light heavyweight fringe contender against George, 13-2 (8 KOs), who had had two quality fights with Marcos Escudero, and whose only loss was to spoiler Raiko Santana in 2022.
“The unexpected can always happen in the boxing ring,” Oberlton said. “I am just glad my opponent was OK.”
Now Oberlton will face Gongora, 22-3 (17 KOs), who is the most accomplished opponent Oberlton has faced. The 36-year-old Gongora knocked out Ali Akhmedov in 2020, and his recent defeats are a split decision loss to WBC interim titleholder Lester Martinez and a unanimous decision loss to WBC titleholder Christian Mbilli. Gongora, an Ecuadorian training out of Boston, will make his debut in the light heavyweight division after competing at middleweight and super middleweight.
“Everybody that I fight is a threat,”…
2026-05-03 23:00:00
