WBC junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada will face the WBA Roman title “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in the main event of a DAZN card Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Gonzalez defeated Estrada in 2012 by unanimous decision to defend his WBC junior flyweight title. Since that day, the boxing world has waited for a rematch.
Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs), from Mexico, has won 15 out of 16 fights since then, and he has collected titles at 115 and 118 pounds. His only defeat in this stretch was a majority decision against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2018, challenging for the WBC junior bantamweight belt. Estrada avenged that defeat a year later with a decision win to win the title.
“I have been waiting for this fight for almost nine years – I am ready for the opportunity,” Estrada told a news conference on Thursday. “He is a good champion, he is a good fighter, and may he win the best.
“This is going to be better than the first. It is going to be a war and the people who watch it will be the real winners.”
Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs), from Nicaragua, lost two consecutive fights to Ser Rungvisai in 2017 and it looked like his career as a high-prize fighter was over. But he has since recovered with four straight wins, including impressive wins in 2020 against Khalid Yafai (TKO9) and Israel Gonzalez (UD).
“It will be a beautiful fight. Juan is a good champion and we know what we have to do,” said Gonzalez. “I think it is an important fight, not only for Nicaragua, but also for Mexico. I think the two countries will be paralyzed on Saturday watching this fight.”
Estrada and Gonzalez are ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the ESPN junior bantamweight ranking.
Still on the card, Jessica McCaskill will defend the undisputed welterweight title against the fighter who won the title, Cecilia Braekhus.
McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs), from Chicago, defeated Braekhus by majority decision in August in a close fight. Two judges had the fight for McCaskill 97-94 and 97-93, while the third judge had a tie, 95-95.
“I’m ready to punch Cecilia in the face,” said McCaskill. “I mean, as we said, I don’t know Cecília and she doesn’t have bad blood, but we want so much for boxing that it will be the best fight of the night.
“Cecilia brought retirement after the last fight. Those words are not mine – they are hers, so I will make her eat them.”
Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs), born in Colombia but fighting outside Norway, won the undisputed championship with a unanimous decision victory over Ivana Habazin in 2014 and defended the belts 10 times in a row before losing to McCaskill.
“I just want to get the belts back and McCaskill kept me very motivated – she kept me motivated throughout my camp,” said Braekhus. “Last time, she knows she was lucky, so I think that’s where all the small talk comes from.
“[For the first fight] she was at home, she was in her home country, all the judges were at home … I didn’t have a performance at the top. On Saturday, I will be at my best and she is nowhere near my level. “
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Fight in progress: Souleymane Cissokho vs Daniel Echeverria, 8 rounds, junior middleweights
Results:
Kyoguchi defends title against Aragon Vega
Hiroto Kyoguchi caught a stoppage in the fourth round in an unfortunate ending for Alex Aragon Vega.
After Vega (14-4-1, 8 KOs) was able to crash with the current WBA junior flyweight champion in Japan in the first rounds of the fight, Vega’s night was interrupted after he appeared to suffer a hand injury. in the Redondo room.
After a right hook that hit Kyoguchi’s forehead, the Mexican challenger immediately grimaced and retreated to the ropes while holding his hand.
The fight was stopped immediately, as Vega was in too much pain to continue. The doctors immediately cut Vega’s glove and hand wraps while Vega was still sitting in the ring.
Kyoguchi (15-0, 10 KOs) made the third defense of the belt he won in a technical knockout in the 10th round over Hekkie Budler in 2018.
Williams takes care of business against Douglin
Austin Williams dominated Denis Douglin in an action-packed middleweight clash on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Williams, who fights outside Houston, landed big punches over the eight-round fight and came close to getting a stoppage victory. In the seventh round, Williams (8-0, 6 KOs) landed a big right uppercut that sent Douglin (22-8, 14 KOs) back to the ropes. However, Las Vegas veteran Douglin was able to land enough punches to stifle Williams’ attack and reach the bell without falling.
Douglin stepped in to replace Aaron Coley, who was the opponent originally cast for Williams. Williams scored his third win in the last three months, while Douglin lost four of his last six fights.
Ford and Perez fight for a split tie
In a fight between two undefeated fighters, Raymond Ford’s growing prospect was more foretold than his opponent, Aaron Perez. However, Perez gave Ford everything he could do and finally did enough to win a split tie in an eight-stroke penalty fight that kicked off the Estrada-Chocolatito tie at DAZN.
Perez (10-0-1, 6 KOs), from El Paso, Texas, was aggressive at first and used clubbing hooks and unorthodox angles to give Ford problems in the opening rounds. Perez slowed down in the second half of the fight when Ford (8-0-1, 4 Kos), from Camden, New Jersey, succeeded with a few strong kicks and was able to maintain his range with his precise punches.
But that damage was not enough to delay Perez. In the eighth and final round, Perez and Ford got involved in some big exchanges.
One judge scored 78-74 for Perez, while another made 77-75 for Ford. A judge produced a score card of 76-76, which resulted in a tie.
Yet to come:
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Fight for the title: Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, for the WBC title of Estrada and the WBA title of Gonzalez
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Fight for the title: Jessica McCaskill vs. Cecilia Braekhus, 10 rounds, for the undisputed welterweight championship (WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF)