THE 31-year-old Sultan faces American prospect Frank Gonzalez in an eight-round bout at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Sultan is eager to bounce back after losing to Paul Butler by a lopsided unanimous decision in an interim World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight contest on April 22, 2023 in Liverpool, England.
Before his loss to Butler, Sultan won his last three fights, wherein two wins were against tough opposition in Sharone Carter and previously unbeaten Carlos Caraballo.
Sultan, a former ALA Boy, rose up to prominence in 2017 after two important victories in the Philippines. He knocked out former world champion Sonny Boy Jaro in eight rounds and then defeated three-division world titleholder Johnriel Casimero by a convincing unanimous decision in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight title eliminator.
Following his upset win over Casimero, Sultan challenged then IBF super flyweight king Jerwin Ancajas. Sultan, however, fell short and lost to his compatriot Ancajas by unanimous decision in Fresno, California.
Sultan is working his way back up to becoming world rated again after falling off the rankings after his loss to Butler.
On the other hand, the 26-year-old Gonzalez is a winner of his last three fights against low-level competition. He defeated Delio Gomez, Cailo Peralta and Jose Alfaro all in Colombia. His last three opponents have a combined record of 9-30-5 win-loss-draw record.
Gonzalez fought for a regional belt two times in his career. He fought Saul Sanchez for the World Boxing Association (WBA) Fedecentro bantamweight strap in 2021 and lost by a first round stoppage. His second attempt at a regional belt was last year, wherein he was knocked out by Emmanuel Rodriguez in the fourth round of their WBO Latino bantamweight contest.
Sultan is 18-6 with 11 knockouts, while Gonzalez is 12-3 with six knockouts. / EKA