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Roman Gonzalez’s Saturday night in Managua, Nicaragua, was a long way from Carlos Cuadras at The Forum or Brian Viloria at The Garden. It was light years from Juan Francisco Estrada at the Los Angeles Sports Arena – or even, much more recently, Estrada at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
This was a different “Chocolatito.” But it wound up being enough.
In a showcase junior bantamweight bout, Gonzalez labored but outlasted Hector Robles over 10 rounds to earn a unanimous decision at his hometown Gimnasio Alexis Arguello in Managua.
Scores were 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92, all in favor of Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, 53-4 (42 KOs), and now clearly carrying the age and weight of a 38-year-old who lacks the luxury of masking it in boxing’s lightest divisions, fought accordingly over the first two rounds. It was Mexico’s Robles, 13-9-3 (4 KOs), who was the busier of the two fighters early, scoring points (if not damage) with a two-fisted attack that found Chocolatito a step slow and seemingly almost unwilling to engage.
But in the third, Gonzalez was suddenly up on the balls of his feet, bouncing, unspooling long right and left hands around Robles’ flank – into his ribs, above his hip, anywhere he could find a purchase. Robles was still throwing, still seeking his opportunities, but Gonzalez was now slipping, moving and, most noticeably, advancing – sending Robles into retreat, putting his back on the ropes and letting his hands go freely. The old Chocolatito? No. But something much closer to it than we saw at the opening bell.
Gonzalez kept up his assault to the body, but Robles was still giving back roughly what he was taking. In the sixth and seventh, they leaned in, fired, ducked, turned, missed, landed. Neither was hurt, but slowly and surely, Gonzalez piled up more punches. He wasn’t so much concussive as he cascaded a steady stream of leather that Robles couldn’t quite keep up with.
It was hardly a done deal, though. In the eighth, Robles landed a sharp left hand squarely on the nose, snapping Gonzalez’s head back and forcing him to reset. But he did, and the action continued, with Chocolatito maintaining a steady but distinct edge.
Both fighters gave what they had down the stretch, Robles throwing often but without the power to turn the fight in his favor and Gonzalez lagging slightly behind in volume but able to coast across the finish line – perhaps a symbol of what we’re witnessing as the career of the great Chocolatito winds down in similar fashion.
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.
