Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada scored a narrow points win over Roan Gonzalez in Glendale, Arizona tonight. The scorecards were 116-112 and 115-113 in favor of “El Gallo”, with one judge scoring it a draw.
“We trained hard for this third fight,” said Estrada after the bout. “We had excellent preparation at high altitude. I think the fans really enjoyed a great fight tonight.”
“If he wants the fourth fight, I think we can do it.”
“He’s a future hall-of-famer. I won today on my own merits; it doesn’t take anything away from him. I think he still has a lot ahead of him in his career.”
Gonzalez was gracious in defeat. “It was a nice fight for the public,” he said. “I did what I could. What’s important is that we gave a great fight for the fans and we came out in good health.”
“All fights are difficult, and I feel this was the most difficult of our three fights. As long as they pay well, of course we can have a fourth bout. That’s what we’re for.”
This was a tale of two fights, with Estrada (44-3, 28 knockouts) controlling the action over the first half of the match, and Gonzalez (51-4, 41 KOs) making a hard charge in the second.
Early on, Chocolatito mostly fought on the back foot. He didn’t throw as many combinations as we’re accustomed to seeing from him. Estrada just seemed to be a little fresher, a tad sharper, and slightly quicker to the punch early on.
But the Nicaraguan legend began to come on in the middle rounds and had big moments over the last third of the bout. The 35-year-old threw a staggering 100 punches in the ninth round.
The twelfth and final round was the stuff of legends. It felt as if the fight was up for grabs and both men acted like it, landing a combined 48 power punches.
CompuBox credited Estrada with landing 217 of 778 total punches in the bout (28%), including 62 body shots, which doubled Chocolatito’s 31 body connects. Gonzalez landed 201 of 732 total punches, with the same connect rate. Other than body blows, every punching category was pretty even between the two fighters.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said he would love to make a fourth fight between Estrada and Gonzalez. He also mentioned a potential all-Mexico match up with Estrada and Julio Cesar Martinez, who fought in the co-main.
The Estrada vs Gonzalez rubber match headlined a Matchroom Boxing card that was broadcast on DAZN.
Notable Undercard Results:
In the co-main, Mexico’s Julio Cesar Martinez successfully defended his flyweight title with a majority decision win over Samuel Carmona, of Spain.
Nicaraguan Cristofer Rosales scored the upset of the night, beating previously undefeated Joselito Velazquez by unanimous decision in a flyweight bout.
Unbeaten super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco improved to 17-0 (14 KOs) with a TKO2 win over Ricardo Adrian Luna.
Michael Montero can be found on social media via @MonteroOnBoxing. His show “The Neutral Corner” can be seen every Monday on YouTube and heard on audio podcast platforms around the world.
