Juan Francisco Estrada waited for more than eight years to get his rematch with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, and in the end was able to overcome a controversial decision win divided by a vengeance measure, unifying the WBC and WBA titles at 115 pounds.
Estrada (42-3, 28 KO) won with scores of 115-113 and 117-111 in his favor, the latter a source of real debate that many will see as very broad, with the third card going to Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KO), 115-113.
Bad Left Hook had the fight 115-113 and 116-112 on separate cards, both for “Chocolatito”.
In addition to any debate, this was simply a magnificent fight, and I think boxing fans would welcome a third fight between the two stars, who are two of the most skilled fighters in the sport. It was an uninterrupted action from the opening bell of the first round to the final bell of the 12th round, and everyone should take their hats off to these two exceptional fighters.
If you lost the fight, do yourself a favor and watch as soon as possible.
“I think I did enough to win. ‘Chocolatito’ is a great fighter and I think he deserves the trilogy, ”said Estrada through an interpreter. “I knew it was a close fight, I didn’t know if I was up or down, but I knew I needed to close the fight in these last two rounds.”
The plan is for Estrada to face Srisaket Sor Rungvisai – who won a much less impressive fight on Friday – for the third time, but he seems to think there may be more demand to see Estrada-Chocolatito III – and he can be right. Still, Rungvisai is mandatory for Estrada, so if Estrada wants to keep the WBC half of his championship unified, that has to come next, unless Rungvisai surprised everyone and walked away.
“Whatever happened had to happen, but I had a good fight. I would have been happy with the result anyway. I did my job, ”said Gonzalez through an interpreter. “It was a better fight than the first. I felt like I won. In the last round I gave everything, it was a great round. I’m happy because I’m going home to see my family. “
Gonzalez, of course, wants a third fight. “I won both. Whatever Estrada wants, we’ll do it. I am very happy with my performance and with the audience enjoying the fight ”.
CompuBox saw Estrada landing 314 of 1,212 (26%) total punches, compared with 391 of 1,317 (30%) for Gonzalez. It was simply an incredible production from both fighters. Gonzalez overtook Estrada in power strikes, 352-297, but Estrada maintained a solid advantage in body strikes, 89-31.