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By Cliff Rold - The star of this weekend’s biggest card, Gennady Golovkin, might not be the best fighter in the building at the storied Los Angeles Forum. Sure, the spotlight will shine brightest on the Middleweight main event.
More than a few hardcore fans are hoping a smaller man steals the show.
On the eve of his HBO debut, one can make a case that World Flyweight Champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (42-0, 36 KO) is already likely for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Gonzalez has won titles in each of boxing’s three smallest weight classes since 2008. Across those almost seven years, the Nicaraguan dynamo mentored by legendary countryman Alexis Arguello has rarely been tested.
Gonzalez might be the best fighter in the world, at any size, not named Floyd Mayweather.
This Saturday (10 PM EST), as the co-feature to the WBA Middleweight title fight between Golovkin and challenger Willie Monroe, Gonzalez will attempt his second defense of the lineal and WBC 112 lb. honors he won last September with a knockout of Japan’s Akira Yaegashi.
Gonzalez will face 35-year old former WBC 108 lb. titlist Edgar Sosa (51-8, 30 KO). Sosa is 2-0 since a competitive but clear decision defeat to Yaegashi in December 2013. This will be Sosa’s third chance at the 112 lb. title, also suffering a competitive decision loss to Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in October 2011.
Between those defeats, Sosa picked up big wins over former 108 lb. titlist Ulises Solis and former lineal 108 lb. champion Giovani Segura. While aged, Sosa remains one of the best Flyweights in the world. At a time when the flyweight division is experiencing a wealth of talent, Sosa is a solid debut foe for Gonzalez on his biggest American stage. [Click Here To Read More]
More than a few hardcore fans are hoping a smaller man steals the show.
On the eve of his HBO debut, one can make a case that World Flyweight Champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (42-0, 36 KO) is already likely for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Gonzalez has won titles in each of boxing’s three smallest weight classes since 2008. Across those almost seven years, the Nicaraguan dynamo mentored by legendary countryman Alexis Arguello has rarely been tested.
Gonzalez might be the best fighter in the world, at any size, not named Floyd Mayweather.
This Saturday (10 PM EST), as the co-feature to the WBA Middleweight title fight between Golovkin and challenger Willie Monroe, Gonzalez will attempt his second defense of the lineal and WBC 112 lb. honors he won last September with a knockout of Japan’s Akira Yaegashi.
Gonzalez will face 35-year old former WBC 108 lb. titlist Edgar Sosa (51-8, 30 KO). Sosa is 2-0 since a competitive but clear decision defeat to Yaegashi in December 2013. This will be Sosa’s third chance at the 112 lb. title, also suffering a competitive decision loss to Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in October 2011.
Between those defeats, Sosa picked up big wins over former 108 lb. titlist Ulises Solis and former lineal 108 lb. champion Giovani Segura. While aged, Sosa remains one of the best Flyweights in the world. At a time when the flyweight division is experiencing a wealth of talent, Sosa is a solid debut foe for Gonzalez on his biggest American stage. [Click Here To Read More]
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