Showing posts with label Chocolatito Gonzalez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolatito Gonzalez. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2022

Estrada-Gonzalez: Will The Rivalry Continue?

 

When it comes to trilogies in the sport of Boxing, it is logical to assume that when a fighter is able to emerge with two victories out of three bouts that in most cases that would conclude the story/rivalry between two fighters. There are times however, when no matter what the results are between two fighters over a series of fights, the question becomes will the rivalry continue beyond three fights.

 

While it is rare to see a series of fights exceed three bouts due to both the politics that be in the sport as well and perhaps more specifically, the accumulation of punishment fighters sustain not only in the course of a series of bouts, but in their careers in general, there have been exceptions. Many will recall the series of fights between Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta in the 1940’s and 1950’s that extended to six bouts between the two, despite Robinson winning five of those fights.

 

Some may ask why where there six fights between the two given not only that Robinson won five of those battles, but also what would make the continuation of the series appealing to the Boxing fan. This observer feels that the simplest answer comes down to the adage of “Styles Make Fights.” In that it does not necessarily matter to some fans as to who will win a fight between two fighters or how many times, they face each other. There are times where the styles of two fighters simply mesh so well that no matter how many times two fighters enter the ring to do battle against each other, the fan whether they be attending a fight in person or watching on television/streaming is almost guaranteed to see an entertaining fight.

 

In the case of Jr. Bantamweights Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the styles of both men would appear to mesh perfectly where they will almost always produce a close and competitive fight that will entertain the vast majority of Boxing fans. On December 3rd, the two multi-division world champions entered the ring for their third encounter at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ. As it stood entering fight three between the two, each man had won victory a piece, each in exciting and competitive fights that went the distance. Fight three would turn out to be no different.

 

The early rounds appeared to favor Estrada, who’s WBC Jr. Bantamweight world championship was on the line in this fight. Estrada appeared to out box Gonzalez during much of the first six rounds of the fight by doing what he did in the second bout, in which he won in March of last year, using lateral movement and combination punching to offset the pressure of Gonzalez. While the fight was very competitive at this stage, it seemed at least to this observer that Gonzalez was a step behind Estrada, which allowed the champion to gain the edge. At the halfway point in the fight, I felt that Estrada had done enough to win four out of six rounds. Despite the appearance that might give of a lopsided bout favoring one fighter, I knew based on past history of both fighters that the bout would not be decided at the conclusion of six rounds of a scheduled twelve round bout unless of course, one fighter were able to knock out the other or an instance of a fight being stopped due to an accidental foul or an injury. I did however, begin to wonder at this point in fight three whether Estrada would be able to continue to box his way towards what was looking like could be something that we had not seen as of yet in this trilogy, a clear victory that would not be debated.

 

Over the second half of the fight, Gonzalez found his rhythm and was able to turn things from a Boxing match fought at a high pace into more of a toe to toe battle, though the pace remained the same, very high with both fighters fighting a full three minutes of every round. Although I felt Estrada was ahead going into round seven, the problem at least for me as the fight progressed was that as Gonzalez began to get into the fight, rounds seven through twelve were very close where who won those rounds could likely be determined by moments in a round more so than one fighter out landing/out working the other. While this is a credit to Gonzalez’ skillset and ability to adapt when it appeared as though the fight was getting away from him in terms of how it was scored, it created a conundrum for those who were scoring both in an official capacity or an unofficial capacity to determine who was getting the upper hand. This was due to one fighter in Estrada tending to throw his punches in combination, but Gonzalez being able to make up ground by landing hard flush punches. Even though Gonzalez’ shots at this point in the fight tended to be one at a time, when he did land, he appeared to get the better of the action.

 

As was the case in the previous two encounters, entering the final rounds, I felt the fight was close and could go either way, even though I still felt Estrada was doing enough to earn the victory. It was indisputable however, that Gonzalez had succeeded in closing the gap and the question that began the go through my mind was whether his rally would be enough to sway the fight in his favor. At the conclusion of another hotly contested twelve rounds between the two fighters, I arrived with a scorecard of seven rounds to five or 115-113 in points in favor of Estrada.

 

The basis of my scorecard was largely based on how effective Estrada was in the first half of the fight. A misconception that some can have at times, particularly those who do not understand how Boxing is scored is even if a fighter is able to rally in the middle and late rounds of a fight, without the benefit of knockdowns or being able to clearly win rounds that were closely fought, it can be difficult to close the gap in terms of the scorecards. While Gonzalez did manage to turn what was a four rounds to two deficit on my scorecard at the conclusion of the first six rounds into a closer fight ending up being on the losing end at the conclusion of the fight by two rounds/two points, I believe it was a case where he ran out of rounds.

 

Despite the view and basis of scoring of this fight in an unofficial capacity by yours truly, I felt that the fight could have gone either way and I was almost expecting the official scores to result in a draw being the result of this fight. For those who may wonder why even though I ended up with a seven rounds to five scorecard at the end of the bout, that I would almost expect a draw to be announced as the final result, as I have often said through the many years that I have covered the sport that when it comes to close fights it will often come down to what a judge prefers in their own criteria based on clean punching, effective aggression, ring generalship, and defense that will determine how they score a fight.

 

Speaking only for myself as someone who has spent most of his life covering Boxing and having seen and covered thousands of fights on every level the sport has to offer, how I may see things even though I have both experience and insight to back up how I score, may not necessarily be how three official judges might see the same fight, much less others who are scoring unofficially whether they be fans or fellow members of Boxing media that are also covering a bout. It was nevertheless not a surprise to me to see a close decision announced with one official judge scoring the bout a draw, while two official judges scored the bout seven rounds to five 115-113 in points and eight rounds to four, 116-112 in points for Estrada giving him the victory via majority decision.

 

Ultimately, the two judges who scored this bout in favor of Estrada had a one round difference in their scoring, but that does not change the fact that like the previous two fights, fight three between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez was very close. Should there be a fourth fight between the two? This observer is not against the idea of a potential fourth bout between the two because again, “Styles Make Fights,” and if one were to poll Boxing fans, I believe that they would welcome a continuation of what has been one of the sport’s more memorable rivalries in the recent history of the sport.

 

There is also context in the recent past that would seemingly open the door for a fourth bout. Many will recall the heated rivalry that stretched multiple weight classes between legends Manny Pacquaio and recent Hall of Fame inductee Juan Manuel Marquez, who fought four times in an epic series of fights with a disputed draw in their first fight, followed by two close decision wins by Pacquiao, which fueled demand for a fourth fight. In fight four in December 2012 where both men scored knockdowns of each other, it was Marquez who emerged victorious knocking Pacquiao out in brutal fashion with a perfectly time counter right hand that was thrown in a defensive manner as Pacquiao charged Marquez in the closing seconds of the sixth round. Pacquiao was out cold on the canvas for several minutes. The rivalry between the two concluded with this bout with Pacquiao winning two bouts, one draw, and Marquez’ victory in the final encounter. While I felt that the Marquez victory in fight four and more specifically how it came opened the possibility of a fifth fight between the two, there would be no continuation between the two fighters as Marquez would only fight twice more before retiring in 2014. As most know, Pacquiao continued fighting until losing his last bout to Yordenis Ugas in August of last year, retiring shortly after the fight to focus on his political ambitions in his native Philippines where he has served as a congressman and a senator.

 

Will there be a fourth bout between Estrada and Gonzalez? After three toe to toe wars between the two in fights that were all Fight of the Year candidates, it may be a question of both what either fighter has left in them at this stage in their careers and also whether the money is right for both fighters to make a fourth fight viable. Considering that both Estrada and Gonzalez are part of a crop of fighters in Boxing’s lowest weight divisions that has brought long overdue recognition and exposure of those weight classes in main events here in the United States in recent years, and both fighters like Robinson, LaMotta, Pacquiao, and Marquez are destined to be Hall of Famers when all is said and done, if both fighters are healthy, why not continue the rivalry while both are still near their primes? At the end of the day, much like the rivalries mentioned in this column and some others that I personally could go on and on about, it likely will not matter who ends up with more wins between Estrada and Gonzalez. It will instead be the fights themselves and more specifically how they were fought that will be discussed by Boxing fans and those of us who cover the sport for many years to come.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Friday, December 2, 2022

Estrada -Gonzalez 3 Preview

Perhaps it is a mere coincidence, but the first Saturday in the final month of 2022 in the sport of Boxing is highlighted by two trilogy bouts ranging from one of the sport’s lightest divisions to it’s heaviest. While this observer has already penned a preview of the third encounter between WBC Heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury and longtime contender Dereck Chisora, the second trilogy bout that will take place on Saturday, December 3rd is one that is also highly anticipated. Yours truly is referring to the third battle between WBC Jr. Bantamweight world champion Juan Francisco Estrada and four-division world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. A fight that will headline a Boxing card from the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ that can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN.

Although the Fury-Chisora third bout has come in an unconventional way with Fury having won the previous two fights, the Estrada -Gonzalez trilogy is the more standard set up when most think of a three-fight series between two fighters with each having won one bout. In their last encounter in March of last year, Estrada evened the score by avenging his November 2012 loss to Gonzalez by scoring a twelve round split decision to retain his WBC crown. The first two fight between these two were fought at an extremely high pace and it would be logical to assume that the third encounter might be similar. Why could one make that assumption? 

While the possibility certainly exists that both fighters will look to make tactical adjustments having seen what each other can do after sharing the ring for two twelve round battles, sometimes the old adage of “Styles Make Fights” holds true in that no matter how many times two fighters face each other, the combat tends to be fought in a similar way. If there were slight differences between the first and second bouts it was that in fight two, Estrada used significantly more movement to offset the pressure of Gonzalez, which also allowed him to stay off the ropes. Something that he did not do consistently in the first fight.

Although the combat in fight two was fierce as was the case in the first encounter, the subtle difference in Estrada’s approach as well as seeming to get the upper hand in several of the exchanges resulted in a close victory for him. Now the task for the champion, which may be easier said than done, particularly in regard to a fight in the sport's lower divisions where fights are fought typically at an exhausting pace, will be to try and duplicate and improve on what proved to be a winning strategy last time against Gonzalez. In contrast, Gonzalez must look to cut off the ring and try to limit Estrada’s movement as best as he can.

One thing that a fan should keep in mind as this fight approaches is that both men have been through many wars including the two against each other. Although neither fighter is necessarily near the end of their respective careers, one should wonder when the accumulation of all the battles each fighter has been through will begin to show as they continue on with their careers. It should also not be overlooked that the careers of fighters that compete in Boxing’s lower weight classes tend to be shorter than those who fight at heavier weights with rare exceptions. Whether or not that can be attributed to the pace in which fights at lower weights tend to be fought is a subject to discuss and debate at another time.

One can only hope however, given the fierce battles that Estrada and Gonzalez have given us that both have enough left in them to produce what could, like the last two encounters, be a Fight of the Year candidate. Will chapter three between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez be another classic? We will find out on Saturday, December 3rd.


“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Estrada vs. Gonzalez 3 takes place on Saturday, December 3rd at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN beginning at 5PM ET/2PM PT with Before The Bell, featuring preliminary bouts, followed by the main card beginning at 8PM ET/5PM PT (U. S. Times only.) 

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison 

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

JULIO CESAR MARTINEZ CLASHES WITH CHOCOLATITO GONZALEZ MARCH 5TH ON DAZN

 Press Release: January 25, 2022 By DAZN – World Flyweight ruler moves up in weight against Super-Fly legend on March 05

 

Julio Cesar Martinez will face Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez at the Pechanga Arena San Diego in San Diego, California on Saturday, March 5, live worldwide on DAZN. 

Credit:DAZN

 

Martinez (18-1 14 KOs) fights at 115lbs for the first time and does so against a legend of the weight in Chocolatito (50-3 41 KOs), with the Mexican stepping in to replace Juan Francisco Estrada, who has been forced out of his trilogy clash with Chocolatito with COVID.

 

Martinez’s last action was a trademark all-action shootout with McWilliams Arroyo in New Hampshire in November, with both men hitting the canvas in the opening round and Martinez flooring Arroyo in the second before the contest was stopped with Arroyo suffering a cut.

 

The exciting Mexican has spoken freely of his desire to move up in weight and challenge himself against the cream of the 115lb scene like Chocolatito and Estrada, and opportunity has knocked loudly for the 26 year old to announce himself at Super-Flyweight in San Diego and ‘El Rey’ plans to do so in style against the Nicaraguan star.

 

“I am thrilled that I am able to move up in weight and fight the very best straight away,” said Martinez. “Chocolatito is a living legend and a fighter I have always admired, so to be fighting him in my first fight at Super-Flyweight is special – but on the night, it’s going to be war and I am ready for it. 

 

“I have ambitions to unify the Flyweight division and that flame still burns, but this fight is so huge for me, and I did not hesitate to accept it – I promise the fans that I will put on a show.”

 

“What a fight!” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Julio has ambitions to become a pound-for-pound star, and this is what the greats do – meet huge challenges head on and take them with both hands. Chocolatito is a modern great and he’s relishing this test against El Rey – I cannot wait for this fight and I’m so happy that both men have signed on the dotted line to deliver this brilliant fight to the fans.”

 

A stacked undercard sees Mauricio Lara return to action against Emilio SanchezAngel Fierro defends his WBO NABO Lightweight title against Juan Carlos BurgosDiego Pacheco tastes eight round action for the fourth time against Genc PllanaMarc Castro is in his sixth pro fight, Anthony Herrera fights for the second time in the paid ranks and Australian Skye Nicolson makes her pro debut.

 

Tickets starting at $50 are on sale now from Ticketmaster - fans that require refunds from the original headline fight should contact their point of purchase.

 

Material and Photo Courtesy of: DAZN Used with permission.

 

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices/platforms/Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe please visit: www.DAZN.com.

 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.