Juan Francisco Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs) avenged his loss to Roman Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KOs) winning a split decision against ‘Chocolatito’ in what was undoubtedly 2021’s Fight of the Year so far.
The two first met eight years ago, when Gonzalez won a unanimous decision to defend his WBA light flyweight title.
Estrada came out aggressive in the first round landing some good combinations. Gonzalez kept his guard high and struggled to counter Estrada as he stepped into range. Gonzalez upped his output in the second round, with Estrada tacking the backfoot as the Nicaraguan forced him against the ropes.
A few rounds in and the pace of the fight was by no means slowing down, with Gonzalez continuing on the front foot in the third. Estrada was landing some good shots on the counter but still found himself against the ropes in the fourth. A one-two from Estrada broke guard of Gonzalez, but he fired back with a hard uppercut.
In the fifth round, Gonzalez landed a clean straight right hand but Estrada took it with ease. ‘El Gallo’ capitalised on Gonzalez slowing down in the sixth round, pressing ‘Chocolatito’ hard and landing several combinations. The tide was beginning to turn in the seventh and eighth as Estrada was starting to land the harder punches.
Neither man was slowing down with just two rounds ago, with the pace staying the same since the opening bell. Gonzalez started to match the pace of Estrada and find his rhythm again. It was unbelievably close heading into the final round.
In the final round, there wasn’t a second that a punch wasn’t being thrown. Estrada’s hands were down as Gonzalez began to tee off, then Estrada fired back instantly. What a fight!
Official result: Juan Francisco Estrada def. Roman Gonzalez by split decision (113-115, 117-111, 115-114) to become the WBA and WBC super-flyweight champion
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