By Dan Ambrose: Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada have reportedly agreed to a deal to meet for a trilogy fight in December.
Before the two super flyweight warriors meet, Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs) will take a tune-up bout, as he hasn’t fought since last year in March.
WBA/WBC 115-lb champion Estrada was supposed to be fighting WBA ‘regular’ champion Joshua Franco, but it appears that the contest won’t be taking place.
There’s a lot more money on the table for Estrada to fight Chocolatito than Franco, so it makes sense for him to go in that direction.
Estrada, 32, and former four-division world champion Chocolatito (51-3, 41 KOs) have split a pair, with Roman winning the first fight in 2012 and Juan Francisco capturing the second one last year.
Many boxing fans had Chocolatito winning the rematch, which took place in Dallas, Texas, and was shown on DAZN. The two fighters threw a combined 2,529 punches during the 12-round bout.
In the end, two judges sided with Estrada by the scores of 117-111 and 115–113. The third judge had it 115-113 for Chocolatito.
Given the questionable scoring for the second fight, it’s important that a neutral venue be selected that will give the Nicaraguan Chocolatito a fair shake when it comes to the judging.
It could be asking for trouble if the Estrada vs. Chocolatito III trilogy is staged in Texas again or in Southern California. New York or Las Vegas would be ideal locations for the Estrada-Chocolatito 3 clash in December.
However, it’s likely the promoters will place it where it has the best chance of selling out, and that would be Southern California or Texas.
While the 35-year-old Chocolatito is a little older than the 32-year-old Estrada, he’s arguably fighting at a higher level right now. Last March, Gonzalez totally dominated Julio Cesar Martinez, beating him by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision in San Diego, California.
It’s impressive the way Chocolatito has turned his career around after suffering back-to-back losses to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2017.
“Juan Estrada vs. Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez III is now agreed for December, according to Chocolatito’s manager Carlos Blandon. Estrada is planning to take a tune-up first,” per talkSPORT.
