Roman Gonzalez-Carlos Cuadras Welcomed By The WBC

By Elisinio Castillo

As few days ago, WBC flyweight champion Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez (44-0, 38KOs) discussed his desire to move up in weight, later in the year, to challenge WBC super flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras (34-0-1, 26KOs).

Gonzalez wants to win the title, but there is a catch. He is not looking to abandon his weight division. Gonzalez wants to hold the position of WBC champion at 112 and 115 - in the same manner as Floyd Mayweather Jr., who simultaneously held the WBC belts at welterweight and junior middleweight.

World Boxing Council President Maurcio Sulaiman says his organization would welcome such a fight and they would be willing to approve Gonzalez's request to be a world champion of two weight divisions. That would also hold Gonzalez accountable for making mandatory defenses in each weight class.

"If he wants to do that we would allow him,  as Mayweather did with welterweight and junior middleweight. If [Gonzalez] wins, he would have the option of staying in a division or being a champion in both," Sulaiman said.

Usually the WBC rules would state the opposite, that if a champion moves up in weight and captures a belt - he must vacate one of the titles. Sulaiman says Gonzalez, in the same manner as Mayweather, would have to submit a formal request to be a champion at both weights.

"Under the normal rule, if you fight in another division it makes sense to stay in only one. Mayweather did not want to leave either division because it meant losing one of the title and he didn't want that, so a vote was held and approved [to allow him to be a world champion at both weights]," Sulaiman said.