Pearl Gonzalez 'I'm looking forward to going toe to toe'

Pearl Gonzalez will be facing former MMA fighter Gina Mazany in a boxing match on Gambred 4 this Saturday.

A loaded MMA vs. Boxing event called “Gamebred 4” is happening on Saturday live from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The main event will see boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. against former UFC champion Anthony Pettis. One of the fights on the undercard features the Uber popular Pearl Gonzalez as she faces former MMA fighter turned social media star Gina Mazany.

The 36-year-old Gonzalez knows how to stir the pot, and earlier today, she showed up to the press conference in an outfit made up of Fruit Rollups. This quickly activated the internet, and the video clips and pictures of her in this outfit were suddenly everywhere. 

Gonzalez has spent years competing in MMA and tried Bare Knuckle Fighting for a while, but she feels that boxing is what she wants to do for the next couple of years. Gonzalez even spent some time with a certain undisputed featherweight champion signed to Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

Gonzalez told FanSidedMMA, “The last two and half years, I’ve been focused solely on boxing. I moved to Brooklyn, NY, for about a year and a half to train alongside Amanda Serrano, one of boxing’s greatest of all time. I was fortunate enough to be let into her camp to train alongside her and Jordan (Maldonado). I started to learn the very basics of boxing and learned how to train. I also learned from her how to eliminate distractions and live the life of a champion.”

 Pearl Gonzalez vs. Gina Mazany is part of Gamebred 4 whill will stream live on PPV ($49.99)

Gonzalez continued, “I moved back to San Diego (CA) about eight months ago and took all of that knowledge and brought them into my camp. This is my priority (boxing). My goal is to pursue a world title. When this opportunity came about, it was absolutely incredible, but it wasn’t why I jumped on it. This is my dream that I have been working on quietly and humbly for the last couple of years.”

Speaking of San Diego, Gonzalez held her training camp under some familiar conditions, the gym she had worked out of for over ten years. “I love San Diego. I went back to my longtime MMA gym, where I trained for about ten years. My head Coach Bill Crawford works very closely with me on my boxing. I’m fortunate. I also train with many female MMA fighters, like Juliana Miller (UFC) and IIlima MacFarlane (Bellator). It’s cool to go on my journey with my MMA sisters,” said Gonzalez.

Her opponent on Saturday night is Gina Mazany, who is no stranger to the combat sports world as she spent years competing in MMA. Looking at the matchup, one significant advantage that Gonzalez has over Mazany is that she has two pro bouts underneath her belt while Mazany will be making her boxing debut. It’ll be interesting to see if Mazany can keep her stamina up, as it’s a different type of conditioning when fighting in a boxing match. 

Although there tends to be competitive bad blood amongst fighters, Gonzalez respects her opponent and has watched her from afar before their scheduled bout on Saturday night. Gonzalez told FanSidedMMA, “Today was the first day I’d seen or met her at the press conference. She fought for a long time for the UFC and went into the UFC after I had already left. I’ve watched her career. I saw her get cut by the UFC and then make her way back while tremendously improving her MMA game. She’s a tough fighter. I have a lot of respect for her."

Gonzalez continued, “Today, she stepped to my face and said she would go toe to toe with me. So I know she will bring it on Saturday and I f&cking love it. This is what I’m here for. I want wars! I want to go out there and be covered in f&cking blood and walk away from this as one of the highlights of my career. I’m looking forward to going toe to toe with her.” It sounds like these ladies are ready to steal the show in Milwaukee.

Lastly, we discussed what the rest of the year looks like for Gonzalez, as she wants to stay as busy as possible with fights. Although she hinted at some potential bigger plans, Gonzalez is focused on Saturday and what the future holds regarding her boxing career. “I just want big fights. This is a dream come true to be fighting on a platform with all of these legends. I’m grateful it’s an hour away from my hometown, so I get to represent Chicago on Saturday night as my family will be there. I want to go right back into camp after this. I have some opportunities out there that I can’t talk about just yet. There have been talks about potentially fighting on Misfits Boxing or something like that. I can do it; I’m a performer and entertainer. I just want to compete as much as possible for the next couple of years and then move into the commentator & analyst world.”