By Kenneth Friedman: Tonight on DAZN, Carlos Cuadras (39-3-1 27 KOs) will be in the role of a spoiler when he challenges WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27 KOs) at the Gimnasio TV Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico.
Estrada, 30, and Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (49-2, 41 KOs) are planning on fighting a highly anticipated rematch in early 2021 on DAZN. The only thing that can stop that fight from happening is if they lose tonight in their respective fights.
Cuadras and Estrada are expected to do many brawling tonight, and this should be a fun fight to watch. The way that Cuadras fights, he’ll be coming after Estrada all night long to try and take him out.
Can Estrada beat Cuadras again?
Estrada has looked outstanding lately in winning his last four fights, including a victory over the hard-hitting Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Juan Franciso had lost to the red-hot Rungisai by a 12 round majority decision in their first fight in February 2018. But in their rematch last year in April, Estrada gained revenge by beating Rungvisai by a 12 round unanimous decision.
What was impressive about that fight is the way that Estrada negated heavy-handed Rungvisai’s power by using an in and out the attack and speedy combinations. In the first half of the match, Rungvisai was outclassed by Estrada, who dominated the action.
In the part of the fight, Rungivisai came on and fought remarkably well. However, Rungvisai had given away too many early rounds for him to make up the difference, but it was still close at the end. Estrada won by the scores 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112.
Cuadras wants a second fight with Chocolatito Gonzalez as well, and he knows that he can earn a lot of money in a rematch. The Chocolatito vs. Cuadras contest in 2016 was one of the most exciting contests of the year, and fans would like to see them fight again.
That was Roman’s first fight at 115, and he didn’t look nearly as impressive as he’d been fighting at 112 and 108. Cuadras’ talent had a lot to do with that.
Cuadras resembled a smaller version of Canelo already the way he attacked Roman with powerful combinations.
Estrada fought Cuadras at the perfect time
The former WBC 115-lb champion Cuadras, 32, is a dangerous foe for Estrada, especially given how close their first fight was three years ago in 2017. Estrada barely skimmed past Cuadras in winning 12 round unanimous decisions by the scores 114-113, 114-113, and 114-113.
Cuadras was at his worst when he took that fight with Estrada, as he’d lost a 12 round decision to Chocolatito a year earlier in 2016. He looked out of sorts against Davis Carmona in his first fight after that.
It was clear that Cuadras wasn’t firing on all eight cylinders when he fought Estrada the first time. After a bad early start, Cuadras came on strong in the second half of the fight and looked like the better fighter at the end.
The Estrada vs. Cuadras fight resembled last Saturday’s Vasily Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez contest how the contest swung around. Estrada was the better fighter early on, but Cuadras took over his combination punching and looked like his old self down the stretch.
Prediction
Estrada’s boxing skills and his ability to move around the ring will likely give Cuadras many problems. I see Estrada winning a 12 round unanimous decision by a set of 116-112 scores once again.
Cuadras has a chance of winning, but he’s probably going to need to knockout Estrada for him to get the ‘W.’ No one yet has come close to knocking out Estrada during his 12-year career, and I don’t expect that to change tonight.
Cuadras has the power and the style to give Estrada a run for his money, but it’s going to be difficult for him to get close enough to put his punches together. Estrada has changed a lot since their first fight in 2017, and he’s less willing to stand and punch it out as he used to when he was a little younger.
Estrada’s two contests with the powerful Thai fighter Rungvisai taught him that it’s better to stay on the outside and limit the amount of damage he sustains in his fights.
Cuadras likely has trained for the eventuality of him needing to chase Estrada around the ring tonight. It probably won’t be a surprise to Cuadras if Estrada gets on his bike and starts moving from the first round.
Roman Gonzalez vs. Israel Gonzalez – preview
The former four-division world champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez has to win his fight tonight against Israel Gonzalez (25-3 11 KOs), and that’s not a given either.
The 23-year-old Israel has the size, youth, and the boxing IQ to defeat Chocolatito, who arguably has no business fighting at 115. Chocolatito is a fish out of the water at super flyweight.
Roman is incredibly undersized for this weight because Lomachenko is too small for the lightweight division. It’s worse for Chocolatito than Lomachenko, though, considering that his fighting style is that of a brawler.
Chocolatito wins his fights with his high volume punching style, making him vulnerable against the bigger and stronger fighters at 115. He could lose tonight if he could not get to Gonzalez without getting picked off by his precise punches.
The 5’6″ Israel Gonzalez will have a three-inch height advantage over the 5’3″ Chocolatito, and you can bet that he’ll be looking to use that advantage.
Israel has stepped up twice in challenging for world titles against Kal Yafai and Jerwin Ancajas. He gave both of them a lot of problems. The way Gonzalez fought Yafai, it was a contest. It was difficult to score.
Yafai won a 12 round decision by the scores 116-112, 116-112, and 117-111. The fight looked a lot closer than the scores handed in by the three judges.
Prediction
With Roman Gonzalez being the A-side fighter and the one that will be pushing forward all night, he’ll win a 12 round decision over Israel. It’ll be a competitive fight just as Chocolatito’s last contest with Yafai was last February.
Israel will try hard to keep Chocolatito bottled up on the outside by keeping the action at a distance, but that’s going to be impossible for him to do the entire fight. Chocolatito will keep coming forward and pressuring Israel, and he’ll force him to brawl.
Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Moises Calleros – preview
The exciting to watch WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (16-1, 12 KOs) faces journeyman Moises Calleros (33-9-1 17 KOs) in a non-title fight. Calleros failed to weigh on Thursday in five pounds, four ounces over the 12-pound weight limit.
Calleros, 31, and Martinez will still be fighting, but without the WBC 112lb title on the line. Martinez, 25, is a huge favorite in this fight, and for a good reason. He’s a punching machine with excellent power and an engine that won’t quit.
Lately, Martinez has slowed down his aggressive style of fighting, and he’s not throwing as many punches as he previously did. That appears to have been a change initiated by his trainer Eddy Reynoso, who prefers that his fighters focus on defense to minimize the amount of punishment they absorb in their fights.
Calleros is a big step down for Martinez from the fighters he’s been facing lately, which is understandable because he’s a replacement opponent. He’s not supposed to be a tough challenge for Martinez, so it’s going to be interesting to see how long this contest lasts.
With Martinez’s old style of fighting in which he would go all out to score a knockout, he would likely make quick work of Calleros. But with the new style that Martinez is using, this fight might go until the later rounds before he knocks him out.
Prediction
Martinez by a 10th round knockout over Calleros. If Martinez fights aggressively as he did in his wins over Charlie Edwards and Andrew Selby, he’ll play knockout Calleros in three rounds or less.