Estrada vs. Rungvisai trilogy fight possible in Mexico says Hearn

By Boxing News - 04/27/2019 - Comments

Image: Estrada vs. Rungvisai trilogy fight possible in Mexico says Hearn

By Mark Eisner: Juan Francisco Estrada (39-3, 26 KOs) put on an incredible boxing clinic last Friday in beating the powerful WBC super flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-5-1, 41 KOs) by a close but decisive 12 round unanimous decision in front of a large crowd on DAZN at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Estrada won the fight by the scores 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.

Matchroom Boxing USA promoter Eddie Hearn revealed after the fight that he plans on trying to put together a trilogy match between Estrada and Rungvisai next in Mexico or Los Angeles. That’s the fight that Hearn wants.

“I think a rematch in Mexico would be incredible or in LA,” Hearn said to Secondsout about a trilogy fight between Estrada and Rungvisai. “You know what you’re getting every time. You’re getting value for money. The second fight was arguably as good as the first fight. Rungvisai started boxing orthodox for the first five or six rounds. When he switched to southpaw, he started doing really well,” Hearn said.

Although Estrada said he wants a unification, Hearn seems to prefer to match Rungvisai and Estrada together again. It makes sense to bring those two back for a third fight. The other two champions at super flyweight, Khalid Yafai and Jerwin Ancajas, aren’t well known enough to create a lot of interest for a fight against Estrada. Moreover, Ancajas is with Top Rank Boxing, and fights on ESPN. The best possible fight out there for Estrada at 115 will continue to be Rungvisai. If Estrada moves up in weight to the bantamweight division [118 lbs.], he can fight the likes of Naoya “Monster” Inoue, Nonito Donaire, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Luis Nery, and Zolani Tete. Those will be real challenges for Estrada, especially Inoue, Donaire and Nery. Those are all going to be tough fights for Estrada if he wants to test himself.

The fight was easily better the first first one between Rungvisai and Estrada last year in February 2018 in Los Angeles. Estrada threw more punches, attacked more, and did an outstanding job of counter-punching. Each shot the 32-year-old Rungvisai threw during the first eight rounds, he paid for by getting hit back by Estrada. Even when Estrada was backing away while being attacked, he would land combinations. Rungvisai looked dispirited going into the championship rounds [9 through 12].

“I gave Rungvisai three of the last four rounds, which is what made it a close fight,” Hearn said. “In the early rounds, I thought Estrada was fantastic. When he [Rungvisai] went back to southpaw, he was boxing really well, and having a lot of success,” Hearn said.

Estrada, 29, said that he wanted to exchange with Rungvisai in the last part of the fight to make it exciting for the boxing fans at The Forum, and the ones watching him at home. It looked more like Estrada was gassed out from the pressure that Rungvisai was putting him under. Rungvisai looked flat in the first eight rounds, and didn’t seem mentally or physically engaged in the fight. Whether the pro-Estrada crowd that seemed to be getting to him to cause Rungvisai to fight below his level is unclear. Something changed mentally with Rungvisai in the ninth. After being taunted by Estrada, who was trying to make him look bad by showboating, Rungvisai started throwing punches with everything on them. Those shots were hurting Estrada, knocking him backwards from the momentum. The increased that Rungvisai started hitting Estrada with took the pro-Estrada crowd out of the fight, and it seemed to drain the confidence the energy from the Mexican fighter. He had very little left in the last four rounds. Rungvisai appeared to win the final rounds to make it close.

“I think Estrada prepared very well, and he adjusted his technique and plans very well,” Rungvisai said to secondsout after his loss to Estrada. “Estrada was very fast today. I will prepare harder, and train to get faster. I really want the rematch, and I hope Estrada gives me the rematch,” Rungvisai said.

Estrada says he wants a unification fight, but the only champion that Hearn would have a shot at putting a fight together with is WBA super flyweight champion Khalid Yafai (25-0, 15 KOs), but he’s never fought in the United States before. There wouldn’t be much interest from U.S fans in seeing Estrada fight a British fighter in a weight class that they don’t normally follow. The super flyweight division isn’t a popular one in the U.S. If DAZN has a choice in the matter, they’ll likely choose to push for a third fight between Estrada and Rungvisai. Yafai looked poor recently in struggling to beat Israel Gonzalez by a controversial 12 round decision last November. Yafai is a weak champion, and not a popular one. The problem that Estrada and Hearn both have is the 115 lb division is lacking in names. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, a fighter that has a large following in the United States, has a knee problem, and he’s aged. He’s not the same fighter that captured world titles in four weight classes, and defeated Estrada in 2012. If Chocolatito were healthy, a rematch between him and Estrada would be a given, but he’s not healthy and he’s aged. Rungvisai easily beat Chocolatito twice in 2017, and since then his career has gone nowhere.

“I wanted to show people that I came to throw punches from beginning to end,” said Estrada after the fight. “Our team came very well prepared and this is what gave us the victory. I dedicate the fight all of Mexico.”

After the fight, Estrada complained of having injured both hands during the fight. He took his gloves and wraps off to show his hands while being interviewed by DAZN. If Estrada’s hands are injured, it might delay him returning to the ring for his next fight. Neither fighter was cut, so they should be able to face each other in a third fight in September.

Estrada could have stayed on the move for the last four rounds, and made Rungvisai look bad, but he looked like the movement was tiring him. The crowd wouldn’t have enjoyed watching Estrada play it safe in the last quarter of the fight against a knockout puncher. Estrada did the right thing in standing his ground, because he had a big enough lead for him to be able to afford to brawl with Rungvisai.