Boxer Alejandro Gonzalez Jr murdered in suspected cartel hit in Mexico, Carl Frampton pays tribute

Boxer Alejandro Gonzalez Jr, who was a former opponent of unbeaten world champion Carl Frampton, was found dead in a suspected cartel hit in his home country of Mexico. The 23-year-old was found executed alongside two other people near his home in Guadalajara as reported by the Mirror.

Police found the three bodies in an abandoned Nissan X Trail in San Carlos, Gudalajara early on Friday (9 December). Two of them were in their underpants with all tied at the feet and hands. One of the bodies found is reportedly said to be that of the boxer's grandfather.

Gonzalez, who had a 25-3 win loss record in the sport, was called La Cobrita due to his technique. He was the son of former featherweight world champion Alejandro Gonzalez. The Mexican came into prominence when he took on unbeaten super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton during his first fight in the United States in El Paso in July 2015.

"Everyone at the Premier Boxing Champions is profoundly saddened by the death of Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. He was a fantastic boxer with a bright future. It is a tragic loss for the boxing community. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and pray for them as they cope with the loss of their beloved Cobrita", said vice president of communications of the Premier Boxing Champions, Tim Smith, as quoted by Boxing Junkie.

Superstar Carl Frampton took to twitter to pay tributes to the deceased boxer, saying "Just heard the tragic news about Alejandro Gonzalez jr. One of the nicest guys I've shared the ring with. RIP Champ #Cobrita."

Frampton's wife Christine, too, took to the social networking site to express her sadness, tweeting, "Absolutely heartbreaking news about the passing of Alejandro Gonzalez jr. Spoke at length with him in El Paso about our families. So sad."