Chocolatito: Estrada Has The Right To Talk; We're Going To See On Fight Night

Roman Gonzalez has taken notice of Juan Francisco Estrada’s comments during the promotion of their long-awaited rematch.

The respectful champion more commonly known as “Chocolatito” declined to respond to his Mexican rival’s talk of how he deserved to win their first fight and how he’ll knock out Gonzalez in their rematch. The 33-year-old Gonzalez, a four-division champion and former pound-for-pound king, would prefer to let his hands talk for him in the ring Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

“It was a difficult fight, but it ended the way it did, right?,” Gonzalez said regarding his win in their first fight. “Eight years later the rematch is coming, and people are waiting for that. I don’t have a prediction; we’ll wait until the bell goes. I’ve always respected people. We’re going to see on [fight] night. He’s got the right to talk, it’s OK.”

Gonzalez defeated Estrada by unanimous decision in their 12-round fight for Gonzalez’s WBA light flyweight title in November 2012 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Estrada felt depleted because he moved down from the light flyweight limit of 112 pounds to challenge Gonzalez for his 108-pound championship.

Nevertheless, Gonzalez is certain that he deserved to defeat Estrada that night, although he considers it a difficult fight. The Nicaraguan icon won eight rounds on two scorecards (116-112, 116-112) and 10 rounds on the other card (118-110).

“In the third round, that’s where I’m pressuring more in the fight,” Gonzalez recalled. “He’s already moving around. I threw some combinations. He still kept going. He’s a warrior. He stood his ground. He has endurance, he throws punches. He landed punches on me quite a few times, but my conditioning helped me.

“It was a great fight that left people feeling excited. I was a warrior and I always have been. I won that fight because I am a natural boxer. I maintained my title. Truly, it was a hard, difficult fight. I can’t say anything until I win this fight. I’ll show my boxing skills the day of the fight. It’s an incredibly important fight and good things will come if I win.”

The Gonzalez-Estrada winner is expected to fight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai next. Thailand’s Sor Rungvisai, who remains the only opponent to beat Gonzalez, is the mandatory challenger for the WBC super flyweight title Estrada won from Sor Rungvisai in April 2019.

Sor Rungvisai (49-5-1, 42 KOs) is scheduled to box countryman Kwanthai Sithmorseng (50-7-1, 27 KOs) in a 10-round fight Friday night in Bang Phun, Thailand (DAZN; 9:30 p.m. ET).

Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) and Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs) will headline DAZN’s stream Saturday night. They’ll fight for Estrada’s WBC and Gonzalez’s WBA super flyweight titles in the main event of a show set to start at 8 p.m. ET.

Estrada, 30, is listed by most Internet sports books as a slight favorite to beat Gonzalez, 33, in their rematch.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.