By Mark Eisner: WBC & Ring Magazine super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) retained his titles with a 12 round majority decision over former four-division world champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-4, 41 KOs) in their trilogy fight on Saturday night at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The score were 116-112, 115-113 for Estrada, and 114-114 even.

(Photo credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom or Michelle Farsi/Matchroom)

Estrada moved nonstop, avoiding Chocolatito and landing many shots on the run. Chocolatito got the better of the action in the championship rounds with the nonstop pressure that he put on Estrada, who moved more than ever.

Of the three fights, this was the least entertaining due to Estrada moving constantly and fighting similarly to the undercard fighter Samuel Carmona.

In the end, Estrada did enough in the first half of the fight to edge a decision. Still, it wasn’t as one-sided as Chocolatito had done in their previous fight, in which he shockingly lost to Estrada in Dallas.

There had been talk about the fourth fight between them going into tonight’s match, but that’s a waste of time.

Chocolatito doesn’t have the wheels to chase Estrada around the ring for 12 rounds. Estrada should focus on fighting Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez or one of the other younger fighters.

Despite Chocoltito losing two of the three fights with Estrada, he appears to be the better fighter of the two overall because he deserved a victory in the second fight and dominated Juan Francisco in their first match in 2012.

Undercard results

In a painfully dull fight, WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs) was forced to chase his reluctant opponent Samuel Carmona (8-0, 6 KOs) around the ring much of the night, beating him by a 12 round majority decision. The 2016 Olympian Carmona dominated the fight through the first five rounds, but he then stopped using his right hand beginning in the sixth. From that point on, Carmona was on his bike, moving continuously, only using his left hand for punches. Despite Carmona’s trainer telling him to stop moving as much, he wouldn’t do it. The scores were 114-114, 117-111, and 116-112 for Martinez. It wasn’t an impressive performance from ‘Rey’ Martinez, as he was poor in his ability to cut off the ring, and he wasn’t letting his hands go in the way that his trainer Eddy Reynoso repeatedly asked him to do. In Martinez’s previous fight, he’d been dominated by Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez earlier this year in March. With this performance, Martinez’s management needs to think hard before putting him in with a better opponent because he struggles against boxers due to his lack of technical boxing skills, and he doesn’t follow instructions well. Tonight could have been an easier fight for Rey Martinez if he followed his trainer Reynoso’s instructions, but he failed to do so. Carmona looked much bigger than Martinez, looking like a super bantamweight inside the ring. It must be difficult for Carmona to make 112 because he looks like he should be campaigning in the 122-lb weight class rather than flyweight. Of course, Carmona’s lack of power and his unwillingness to stand his ground would make him easy prey for the top super bantamweight like Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Stephen Fulton. The ringside crowd booed frequently tonight, letting Carmona and Martinez know they weren’t happy with the way they were performing. As I mentioned, it wasn’t just Carmona that fought poorly. Martinez was inept at cutting off the ring, and he failed to attack quickly & consistently to take advantage of Carmona’s injury and lack of punching power. Reynoso is a good coach, and it’s got to be frustrating for him to have his instructions ignored by Martinez. When Martinez faces better opposition at 112, like Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards, he’s likely to lose his WBC title and be sent back to the contender ranks.
Undefeated super middleweight fringe contender Diego Pacheco (17-0, 14 KOs) destroyed journeyman Adrian Luna (24-9-2, 16 KOs), stopping him in the second round. Pacheco knocked Luna down twice in round two. Luna’s corner halted the bout after the second knockdown. The official time of the stoppage was 2:08.
Flyweight contender Cristofer Rosales defeated Joselito Velazquez (15-1-1, 10 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 97-93, 97-93, and 97-93.
Undefeated middleweight Austin Williams (13-0, 9 KOs) beat Simon Madsen (13-1, 10 KOs) by a 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 99-90, 99-90, and 99-90.
Highly hyped undefeated super featherweight Marc Castro (9-0, 6 KOs) was surprisingly forced to go the distance to defeat Maickol Lopez (16-4, 8 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision. The judge’s scores were 80-71, 80-71, and 80-71. Lopez was down in the seventh.
Undefeated super bantamweight prospect Anthony Herrera (4-0-1, 3 KOs) destroyed Christian Sullivan (8-1, 5 KOs) by a third round knockout. Sullivan was knocked down in the third. The contest was halted at 1:41 of round three.
Women’s super featherweight Beatriz Ferreira (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Carisse Brown (7-3, 4 KOs) in the second round of a one-sided fight.

Many thought the four-division world champion Gonzalez (51-3, 41 KOs) was the better fighter than Estrada (43-3, 28 KOs) in their first two fights, particularly the second one last year.

Assuming we don’t get the same oddball scoring as last time these two fighters met, we should have a conclusive winner either way.

Estrada looked pretty far gone in his last fight against Argi Cortes in September, and he will have to raise his game several levels not to get trounced by Chocolatito tonight.

Undercard:

Austin Williams vs. Simon Madsen
Marc Castro vs. Maickol Lopez Villagrana
Beatriz Ferreira vs. Carisse Brown
Anthony Herrera vs. Christian Sullivan
Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Samuel Carmona
Diego Pacheco vs. Adrian Luna
Joselito Velazquez vs. Cristofer Rosales

In the co-feature bout, the exciting WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (18-2, 14 KO) defends again Samuel Carmona (8-0, 4 KOs). This is the first fight back for Martinez since his loss a year ago to Chocolatito in an ill-advised bout.

“Chocolatito is so small and humble, but when he gets in there, he’s an animal and throws hundreds and hundreds of punches, and he’s one of the greatest fighters ever to exist. He’s in unbelievable shape as well,” said Eddie Hearn to iD Boxing about Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Boxing.

“I think you’re going to see the best of three fights. Obviously, we hype up fights because we believe they will deliver, but this is one that I generally believe will deliver big numbers.

“You don’t see as many stoppages in the lower weight classes. They do throw more punches, and they do trade more, and I think you’re going to see a great one.

“[Julio Cesar] Martinez is in a tough fight against Carmona, a very tough fight,” said Hearn.

Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez takes on Juan Francisco Estrada tonight in their trilogy match-up on DAZN in a 12-round bout at 115-lb a Matchroom Boxing card at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The main portion of the card will be streamed live on DAZN at 8:00 p.m. ET.

This is an important fight that the judges can’t afford to flub up like many believe they did in the Estrada vs. Chocolatitto rematch last year in March 2021.