A native of Maracaibo, Zulia State he made his professional boxing debut on April 24, 1968, knocking out Elio Monzat in the third round at Gonzalez's hometown.
Gonzalez had four wins in a row after that loss, and, on August 4, 1973, he became a world Flyweight champion for the second time, when he claimed the vacant WBA title by defeating Miguel Canto by a fifteen-round majority decision in Maracaibo.
On August 12, 1978, he joined the exclusive group of boxers who have become world champions three times in the same division, by defeating Guty Espadas by a fifteen-round majority decision in Caracas.
On November 4, he retained the title against the famed but maligned Chilean fighter Martin Vargas, a national hero in his country himself, with a twelfth-round knockout.
Gonzalez then embarked on another winning streak, which reached seven victories in a row, including two knockouts over future world champion Peter Mathebula, in ten and six rounds, respectively.
Santos Laciar went on to beat Herrera for the WBA world title, and, after Gonzalez got another win, the two boxing legends met, on September 14, 1982, at a Maracaibo hotel.
After losing by a twelve-round decision to Alberto Castro for the Fedelatin Flyweight title on July 7, 1984, Gonzalez announced his retirement for the first time.
He became a household name all over Latin America during his tenures as world champion, especially after the Spanish boxing magazines Ring En Español and Guantes helped popularize him.