By Jake Donovan
It took more than 10 years for Roman Gonzalez to get to this point, and it still took the financial backing of HBO, who finally began showcasing the unbeaten World flyweight champ earlier this year. Now armed with the American cable giant as well as K2 Promotions, Gonzalez is beginning to venture towards the fight he has long craved.
Next up for the now-recognized best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is an October 17 showdown with former two-division champ Brian Viloria. Their bout will come as the chief support to the middleweight title unification clash between Gennady Gololvkin and David Lemieux, with both fights showcased live on HBO Pay-Per-View from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Once upon a time, Nicaragua’s Gonzalez (43-0, 37KOs) was led to believe that his first crack at a flyweight title would in fact come while Viloria was still in possession of divisional hardware.
Both appeared on the same Nov. ’12 Wealth TV card in Los Angeles, each posting wins in what remains one of the best televised doubleheaders in recent memory. Gonzalez moved past Juan Francisco Estrada in a 12-round thriller – his last as a junior flyweight titlist before moving up in weight. Viloria walked through hell and back to eventually stop Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez in 10 rounds.
The natural next step from such a sensational telecast would have been for the winners to next meet.
“As a matter of fact, after Viloria beat Marquez on the same night I beat Estrada, I was led to believe the winners would face each other,” Gonzalez recalled of the first time he and Viloria crossed paths. “At that moment, he instead fought Estrada. That was the only time he popped up on the radar.”
Viloria went on to drop a disheartening 12-round split decision to Estrada in his very next fight, but has since won four straight.
Rather than race to the top, Gonzalez opted to test the flyweight waters. Five stay-busy wins followed – all coming within the span of 11 months – before moving on to the world championship. He became a three-division champ after knocking out Akira Yaegashi on the road – though also his home away from home – in Japan last September.
The clash with Viloria will mark his fourth fight since that night, and third title defense. Included among the lot was his HBO debut in May, announcing his arrival with a bang in drilling Edgar Sosa inside of two rounds. The bout came on the undercard of Golovkin’s most recent ring appearance, when he stopped Willie Monroe in six rounds.
Gonzalez and Golovkin are now regarded in several circles as the two best fighters in the world. Both have rapidly emerged as the darlings of HBO. The hope now is that the upcoming Pay-Per-View telecast could open the door to satisfy the economic demands that come with finding opponents for either fighter, especially Gonzalez, who has dealt with being avoided by the best during his run among the best of three separate weight classes.
“It motivates me to be able to fight to the best of my abilities; HBO is giving me this opportunity to perform on this stage,” Gonzalez notes. “I want to win and impress the fans. I'm grateful to HBO for giving me the opportunity, as well as the top young fighters in this weight class.”
One such other fighter could be Estrada, as the reigning unified titlist is regarded as the next best flyweight in the world right behind Gonzalez. Of course, there’s a major test to pass before then.
“I would love a rematch with El Gallo Estrada,” Gonzalez admits, but acknowledging that before the future comes present business at hand. “For now my focus is on Brian Viloria and October 17.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
