Chocolatito Motivated To Gain Revenge, Fight More Big Names

By Francisco Salazar

Revenge or repeat.

Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez is confident it will be the former.

Gonzalez may not visibly show the controversial decision loss to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai has affected him, but the popular fighter from Nicaragua may be that fighter that is described as someone who speaks softly and carries a big stick.

Gonzalez will square off again square off against the Thai fighter tonight, this time as a challenger, in a 12 round bout at the Stubhub Center in Carson, California. The fight will headline a three-bout HBO 'Superfly' telecast, beginning at 10:15 pm. ET/ 7:15 p.m. PT.

Two weeks after the fight, because of the competitiveness and controversial scoring in the fight, the WBC mandated for Sor Rungvisai to give Gonzalez an immediate rematch. Most ringside press thought Gonzalez won the fight.

Even as some fighters may continue to point the finger, or make the drastic decision of quitting the sport, Gonzalez (46-1, 38 knockouts) has moved on from the decision.

"It was a difficult fight," Gonzalez told BoxingScene.com. "A close fight. But the head-butts and the cut I suffered (affected) the fight. I fought with strength and valiancy, but those are the things that happen in boxing. You never do imagine it would happen to you. It was difficult to comprehend afterwards, but what are you going to do?"

"The fans went to see a good fight. Instead, the fans came away very upset because of the decision. But, it's a new day. I'm grateful to the people at HBO and Teiken for giving me another opportunity for an immediate rematch. We will see what happens."

Even though Gonzalez has close to 50 fights and is considered a significant favorite to win the WBC title back from the Thai fighter, he believes it is not too late to learn or adapt to the sport.

"We have to fight with more intelligence," said Gonzalez, who will have a partisan crowd in his corner as Southern California is home to sizable Nicaraguan-American community. "We now know we have to careful with head butts. Obviously, he has power, but there wasn't a moment (during the fight) where I was in danger. He does take punches well, so the key is combinations and to be conditioned (for 12 rounds).

"The only thing that surprised me was the knockdown in the opening round, but it was not a punch. It was a head-butt. Even as a champion, you still learn in the ring. I'm still very motivated to do the best work possible."

Gonzalez will take part in what many boxing scribes and fans of the sport describe as the fight of the year. Carlos Cuadras and Juan Francisco Estrada square off in a 12 round bout for the right face the winner of the Sor Rungvisai-Gonzalez bout.

WBO junior bantamweight titleholder Naoya Inoue will defend the title against Antonio Nieves of Cleveland.

The 30-year-old Gonzalez is grateful for the opportunity.

"It is the best champions at 115 pounds. It is a tremendous card. Fight fans are going to expect a great card. Obviously, I would like to fight them (Carlos Cuadras or Juan Francisco Estrada) in a rematch. There's also a fight against Naoya Inoue. I would be delighted to face any of those great fighters."

Gonzalez is a devout Christian and the decision following the Sor Rungvisai fight further cemented his outlook on life, in and out of the ring.

Despite feeling the disappointment in having lost for the first time as a pro and losing his title, even the decision was controversial, Gonzalez believes there is a silver lining through what he went through on Mar. 18.

"My faith tells me to always give thanks to God, whether it is good or bad. I'm thankful to God because I'm in good health. My family was a little sad (because of the result of the fight), but they're now calm. When there's a storm, there's always the calm afterwards. I put everything in the hands of God. He knows why things happen the way they do."

"There's moments in our lives when we don't know why things happen for a reason. Maybe after this fight, there are bigger fights for me on the future."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing