Tag Archives: Roman Gonzalez

Posted on 03/06/2022

By: Hans Themistode

At one point in time, Roman Gonzalez was universally viewed as the best fighter in the world.

However, no matter how long his reign on top of boxing’s Mount Everest was, the surefire future Hall of Famer was thrown from his lofty pugilistic placement following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sor Rungvisai. Though Gonzalez was handed a highly controversial majority decision loss their first time around, Rungvisai emphatically closed the book on their rivalry by scoring a fourth-round stoppage victory over Gonzalez in their immediate rematch.

Since having the first two losses of his career saddled to his record, Gonzalez has bounced back in a major way, picking up victories in five of his last six bouts. In his lone unsuccessful ring venture during that stretch, many believed he’d done more than enough to earn the victory over Juan Franciso Estrada in 2021.

With Gonzalez seemingly returning to his pound-for-pound form, he recently revealed the key to regaining his dominant stature.

“The rest,” said Gonzalez to a group of reporters late last night. “Taking some time off to think.”

As Gonzalez eludes to, he spent just under one full year on the sidelines before making his return to the ring. Also, in addition to the rest, Gonzalez worked hard on his craft behind closed doors. Once the multiple division titlist unveiled his new self, it was clear that he was still one of the premier fighters in the world.

Recently, in an effort to continue his raise, Gonzalez was determined to prove that he is in fact, the best super flyweight in the world as he was set to take on Estrada in an immediate rematch.

Ultimately, Estrada was forced to withdraw from their contest due to COVID-19 like symptoms. In his place, Julio Cesar Martinez stepped in on relatively short notice. The two swapped fists at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.

Before facing off, oddsmakers viewed their contest as a 50/50 affair. However, in the end, their contest was anything but. Gonzalez pummeled Martinez for much of their super flyweight showdown, resulting in a one-sided unanimous decision victory.

With boxing’s spotlight shining directly upon him, Gonzalez refused to praise his own skills, instead, he simply pointed a grateful finger toward the Heavens.

“I’m very happy and very pleased, God has given me a lot of blessings, that’s why I’m here.”

Posted on 03/06/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Roman Gonzalez believed he was ready to officially put an end to his perpetual rivalry with Juan Francisco Estrada. With the two splitting a pair of highly competitive bouts, tonight was supposed to be the third, and presumably final time, they share the ring with one another.

However, due to Estrada experiencing COVID-19 like symptoms, he was forced to withdraw from their contest. Despite the fairly short notice, Julio Cesar Martinez brazenly moved up in weight to challenge the future first ballot Hall of Famer. Although it was calculated, Martinez’s move ultimately didn’t pay off.

Martinez was both dissected and controlled for most of their 12 round fight tonight, which took place at the Pechanga Arena, in San Diego, California.

Gonzalez came out bobbing and weaving as he made his way to the center of the ring in the opening round and ripped off several shots within the first few seconds. A fully psyched-up Martinez evaded most of those harmful incoming blows and landed a crisp and sustained attack to the body of his man.

Seemingly unaffected by his much smaller opponent, Gonzalez easily brushed him off while upping his efforts upstairs. From that moment on, Gonzalez’s efforts were without mercy. He punished Martinez throughout much of the first half of their contest. In the process, his gas tank proved to be otherworldly.

With Gonzales gaining the upper hand in most of the exchanges, Martinez bit down on his mouthpiece during the second half of their contest and fought fire with fire. A fairly jam-packed San Diego crowd roared in approval as both men stood toe to toe during the sixth.

Even with Martinez gaining his second wind, the pressure of Gonzalez was relentless. In the eighth, in particular, it appeared as though he was on the verge of closing the show.

Gonzalez scored numerous unanswered blows during the period, as a dejected Martinez fought to stay alive. To his credit, he blasted Gonzalez with a three-punch combination upstairs before focusing his attack on the body. Throughout it all, Gonzalez was never fazed by what was coming in his direction and continually marched forward, regardless of what was hurled his way.

Gonzalez’s workman-like efforts were ultimately rewarded at the end of the final bell. Judge Max DeLuca may have given Gonzalez the nod by a mark of 116-112, but his scorecards showed a far more competitive bout than what his fellow two judges witnessed. Judge Mike Ross, as well as Zachary Young, gave Gonzalez a much wider decision, handing in scorecards of 117-110 and 118-110 respectively.

Posted on 03/15/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Roman Gonzalez didn’t want to sound like a sore loser immediately after. The future Hall of Famer respects the judge’s decision to hand the victory to Juan Francisco Estrada this past weekend but he vehemently disagrees with the result.

Both Estrada and Gonzalez battled it out at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas, in front of a sparse crowd. Those who were watching were mostly acrimonious as Estrada was given the split decision victory.

For Gonzalez, he could care less about the official decision this weekend, much like their first contest in which Gonzalez was handed the win, he believes he’s 2-0 against his long-time rival.

“I won both of them. It was a better fight than the first one,” said Gonzalez to DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “I felt strong, and I felt I won. In the last round, I gave it all. It was a great round. The result is what God wanted. And I’m happy because I’m going back home to see my family.”

As things currently stand, Gonzalez isn’t the only one who believes he should have won, or, at the very least, should have been handed a closer decision loss. WBA President Gilberto Mendoza Jr. suspended judge Carlos Sucre while an evaluation of his performance is currently being conducted.

While the remaining two judges scored the bout 115-113 for Estrada and 115-113 for Gonzalez, Sucre saw things completely differently and handed Estrada the win with a lopsided scorecard of 117-111.

Nevertheless, Gonzalez believes that much like his first contest against Estrada in 2012 that went his way, that he should have been given the nod once again.

Not one to dwell on the past however, Gonzalez has chosen to look at the bright side. Reviews from their contest have come in and by all accounts, it was an overwhelming success.

Although he could push forward and pursued an immediate rematch, Gonzalez has ultimately left the ball in Estrada’s court. Whichever direction his long-time rival decides to go in is alright by him.

“Whatever [Estrada] wants, we’ll do it. I’m very happy with my performance and the crowd enjoyed the fight.”

Posted on 03/14/2021

Juan Francisco Estrada waited nearly ten years before he was given a shot at revenge. While the wait may have been long, it was also worth it.

Both Estrada and former pound-for-pound star Roman Gonzalez met in the main event slot at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas. After sharing the ring with one another nearly a decade ago, neither man would be interested in a feel out round.

Estrada started off fast. The WBC super flyweight champion owned the center of the ring and immediately let his hands go. The first two rounds appeared to be banked by Estrada but Gonzalez was seemingly just getting warmed up.

After finding his distance, the multiple division champion began letting his hands go. Estrada found little success in the third and Gonzalez followed that same blueprint in the fourth.

With things starting to heat up, Estrada could no longer sit back and allow his man to get his shots off first. Instead, he began outboxing Gonzalez and was consistently first to the target. As the rounds ticked by, picking a winner became almost an impossible task. With that said, it appeared as though Gonzalez was just one step ahead.

Despite putting forth what appeared to be a winning effort, all three judges scoring the contest ruled in favor of Estrada via unanimous decision. While their contest was close throughout, the numbers pointed favorably in the direction of Gonzalez as he out-landed his opponent 391 to 314, threw more punches overall than his man 1,317 to 1,212 and also connected on a higher percentage of his punches, 30% to 26%.

Still, Estrada walked away with his WBC title still wrapped safely around his waist. Now, next up will more than likely be a third matchup against Wisaksil Wangek later on this year.

Posted on 03/12/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Roman Gonzalez remembers the aches and pains that came from his contest against Juan Francisco Estrada in 2012. He also remembers getting his hand raised in the end.

For the multiple division world champion, he’ll look to recreate that same winning feeling when they face off against one another this Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas. The bumps and bruises that came shortly after his victory is something he recalls vividly.

But while most would shy away from the impending train wreck that is set to take place, Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs) simply smiles and welcomes the guaranteed carnage.

“It’s going to be a beautiful fight,” said Gonzalez during a recent press conference.

Since their first fight, things have changed. No longer is Gonzalez a constant fixture on virtually every pound-for-pound list. Ironically enough, Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) has taken his place.

With to back losses at the hands of Wisaksil Wangek, the latter coming of the knockout variety, many are under the impression that Gonzalez is on the backend of his career. Whether he’s closer to retirement or not, he proved that he still has something left to give as he outclassed, dropped and later knocked out Khalid Yafai for his WBA super flyweight world title in February of 2020.

Gonzalez has since followed that emphatic win up with a one-sided decision victory over Israel Gonzalez to close out the pandemic-stricken year.

Despite the recent success, the betting public is still siding with Estrada come fight night.

Never has Gonzalez been one to argue with anyone. With that said, he simply believes he knows his opponent inside and out. That experience, coupled with his still elite skills, has him firmly under the impression that he’ll get the job done once the opening bell rings.

“We’re ready for this fight. Juan is a good champion but we know what we have to do.”

Throughout the entire buildup to their showdown, Gonzalez has been stoic and at times immobilized. Come Saturday night, however, he’ll let his hands go and engage in what could turn out to be a fight of the year candidate as most of the world sits back completely numb and in awe.

While Gonzalez knows that his Nicaraguan countrymen will cheer for him until their throats are sore, he is also fully aware that Estrada’s supporters will back their man to no end.

“I think both countries are going to be paralyzed watching this fight. It’s going to be a great fight.”

Posted on 03/03/2020

In the blink of an eye, former pound-for-pound star Roman Gonzalez was dismissed, discarded and cast aside. 

Back to back losses at the hands of Wisakil Wangek in 2017 and 2018 provided the narrative that Gonzalez was no longer a top fighter, let alone a true title contender. Coming into his contest against WBA Super Flyweight champion Khalid Yafai, at The Ford Center at the Star in Frisco Texas, Gonzalez was giving little to no shot at winning that bout. He was simply there to lose and prop up the status of the current champion.

Yet, when the opening bell rang, it turned out to be anything but that. Gonzalez routed Yafai over eight rounds before ultimately stopping him. Now that the future hall of famer has become a champion once again, who should he take on next? 

Jerwin Ancajas 

The title reign of IBF Super Flyweight champion Jerwin Ancaja has been underwhelming to say the least. When the Philippine born Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) first burst onto the scene, he was viewed as the next Manny Pacquiao. He hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype, but he is no means a bad fighter. He just hasn’t been given the chance to show what he can do on the big stage. 

Gonzalez has already gone on record stating that he wants to unify titles, so a contest between the two would make sense at this point. 

Juan Francisco Estrada 

Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27 KOs) has always been considered an elite fighter. He has suffered a few bumps on the road to other elite fighters, but he has always remained in the mix. With both Estrada and Roman Gonzalez not only campaigning in the same division but also holding world titles, a contest between them seems all but inevitable. 

It wasn’t that long ago that both men shared the ring. Back in 2012 Gonzalez managed to squeak by Estrada via unanimous decision. Now however, with Estrada right in the middle of his prime and Gonzalez believed to be at the tail end of his, a rematch between them could play out much differently. 

Wisaksil Wangek

Wisaksil Wangek (47-5-1, 41 KOs) may have two wins under his belt against Gonzalez, but many believe that they still have unfinished business. 

When the two first met back in early 2017, no one believed it was going to be much of a contest. Gonzalez was simply expected to run right through his man. And truth be told, he did. Yet, the judges believed otherwise as Wangek was given the victory. In the immediate rematch Gonzalez was handed a devastating knockout loss. Technically it’s 2-0 on the scoreboard in favor of Wangek, but many believe that it should be 1-1. To officially put this rivalry to bed, they need to meet in the ring at least one more time.