Event: BKB 48: Night of Four Kings
Date: November 22, 2025
Location: Charles F. Dodge Center, Pembroke Pines, Florida
Division: Cruiserweight
Broadcast: VICE, TalkSPORT, Telemundo Deportes Ahora

When a classical Cuban boxer with 345 amateur wins meets a patient southpaw who leaves his punches hanging, the outcome becomes predictable.

The Cuban Professional

Yunieski “The Monster” Gonzalez

• Age: 39 (born July 5, 1985)
• Record: 21-6 professional boxing (17 KOs, 80% KO rate)
• Amateur Record: 345-27 for Cuban national team
• Height: 6’0″
• Reach: 72 inches
• Ranked #1 Cruiserweight in BKB
• Background: Former Ring Magazine top-10 light heavyweight, fought Jean Pascal, Gilberto Ramirez

Gonzalez represents everything Cuban boxing does right. He amassed 345 amateur wins fighting for one of the most dominant boxing programs in history before moving to Miami in 2010. His professional career includes fights against legitimate world-class opposition. Jean Pascal. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez. Andre Dirrell. These boys aren’t cans. They’re world champions and elite contenders.

The Monster is a classical boxer who loves working on the inside. He’s comfortable in the pocket, which is rare for taller fighters. Most guys at 6’0″ want to stay at range. Gonzalez gets close and goes to work. He throws hard punches and works the body exceptionally well. His level changes come at the right time, and critically, he doesn’t take shots to dish them out.

That last part matters. Too many inside fighters think trading is mandatory. They eat two to land one. Gonzalez is well-schooled. He understands angles, head position, and how to work close without absorbing unnecessary damage. This is technical boxing at its finest.

In his bare-knuckle debut at BYB 35 in January 2025, Gonzalez showed he can adapt. As the taller fighter, he did a fantastic job avoiding overhands and moving with them when they came. That’s sophisticated defensive work. When you’re taller, shorter fighters hunt overhands. Most tall guys get caught. Gonzalez doesn’t.

He gets over himself a little bit, sure. There’s some showmanship, some personality. But when the bell rings, he’s all business. This is a fighter who will go far in bare-knuckle boxing. The fundamentals are too strong, the experience too deep.

The Virginia Southpaw

Zion “Z-Man” Tomlinson Sr.

• Location: Roanoke, Virginia
• Record: Mixed results across boxing, MMA, and bare-knuckle
• Ranked #5 Cruiserweight in BKB
• Started fighting at age 15
• Father: Kaine Tomlinson Sr. (head coach)

Tomlinson is a fighter in the truest sense. He’s competed in bare-knuckle boxing, traditional boxing, and MMA. Any ruleset, anywhere. That versatility shows heart, but it also reveals something else: he hasn’t specialized enough to excel at the highest levels.

As a southpaw, Tomlinson has natural advantages. The angles are different. Orthodox fighters struggle with the reversed stance. But southpaw stance alone doesn’t win fights at elite levels. You need fundamentals to go with it.

Tomlinson is patient. He’ll work you into a corner, comfortable sitting in the pocket and waiting for openings. That patience can be effective against aggressive fighters who rush in carelessly. But patience without proper execution is just hesitation.

The Fatal Flaw

Here’s where this fight gets decided: Tomlinson is too cautious. He’s cautious to the point where he leaves punches hanging. Watch his fights and you’ll see it repeatedly. He throws, but doesn’t commit. He extends his arm, but doesn’t use proper punch mechanics as defense.

In boxing, your offense IS your defense when executed correctly. You throw with full commitment, proper rotation, head movement, and immediate retraction. The punch protects you because you’re in proper position throughout the motion. Tomlinson throws halfway. He extends without committing, which leaves him completely exposed.

He’s way too exposed when throwing punches. His arm stays out there. His head stays on centerline. His weight distribution is wrong. For a fighter who’s been competing since age 15, these are fundamental problems that should have been corrected years ago.

Against lesser competition, you can get away with poor mechanics. Against a Cuban boxer with 345 amateur wins and professional experience against world champions? You get knocked out.

The Matchup

This is classical boxing fundamentals against flawed execution. Gonzalez knows how to work inside. He understands distance, timing, and how to capitalize on defensive mistakes. Tomlinson provides those mistakes in abundance.

Tomlinson’s southpaw stance means nothing against someone who’s fought hundreds of southpaws in the Cuban amateur system. Gonzalez has seen every trick, every angle, every setup a southpaw can throw. He knows how to cut off the ring against lefties. He knows when they’re loading up on the straight left. He knows when they’re vulnerable.

When Tomlinson throws his tentative punches, leaving them hanging, Gonzalez will counter with precision. Hard body shots. Clean hooks over the extended arm. The kind of punishing inside work that breaks ribs and wills.

Tomlinson’s patience won’t help him here. You can’t be patient against someone who controls the pocket better than you. Gonzalez will walk him down, cut off angles, and force exchanges where his superior technique dominates.

The Prediction

This ends early. Round one or round two.

Gonzalez pressures immediately. He doesn’t need to feel Tomlinson out because he’s fought better fighters with better fundamentals. He knows what he’s looking at. Tomlinson tries to be patient, tries to work Gonzalez into position, but the Cuban is too smart. He’s already controlling distance and angles.

Tomlinson throws a punch with his trademark poor mechanics. The arm extends, stays out too long, head position wrong. Gonzalez sees it (because how could he not?), slips slightly, and counters with a devastating hook. It could be to the body. Could be to the head. Doesn’t matter. Tomlinson crumples.

The referee waves it off inside two rounds.

Pick: Yunieski Gonzalez by KO, Round 1 or 2

This isn’t competitive. The skill gap is massive. Gonzalez is a world-class professional boxer making his transition to bare-knuckle boxing. Tomlinson is a game fighter with fundamental flaws that have persisted throughout his career.

You can be patient all you want. You can be a southpaw with tricky angles. But when you leave your punches hanging against an elite inside fighter, you don’t make it out of the early rounds.

Gonzalez demonstrates exactly why Cuban boxers dominate bare-knuckle boxing. The technical foundation from hundreds of amateur bouts, combined with professional experience against elite competition, translates perfectly to fighting without gloves. Clean technique matters even more when there’s no padding to hide mistakes.

Tomlinson shows heart by accepting this fight. But heart without technique gets you knocked out. The Monster earns a statement victory and positions himself for bigger fights in the BKB cruiserweight division.

This one ends violently and quickly. Cuban boxing versus flawed fundamentals has only one outcome.

BKB 48: Night of Four Kings airs live November 22, 2025, from Pembroke Pines, Florida on VICE, TalkSPORT, and Telemundo Deportes Ahora.