Via Craig Daly: Juan Francisco Estrada is interested in a fourth bout with Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez or a bout against bantamweight champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue for his next bout.
Estrada defeated Chocolatiro by majority decision in the 12th round with scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114 in their rubber match.
‘El Gallo’ Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) successfully defended her WBA and Ring Magazine super flyweight titles last Saturday night, defeating Chocolatito Gonzalez (51-4, 41 KOs) by decision. fixed a majority of 12 rounds in their triple match at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The fight was shown on DAZN.
Rather than view the match as the end of the chapter in their three-way tie, Estrada, 32, wants to take on former four-division world champion Chocolatito for the fourth time in an immediate rematch.
Given the 35-year-old Gonzalez’s advanced age, it’s important for Estrada to fight him as soon as possible if he wants a chance for a fourth contest before retiring. However, a match against ‘Monster’ Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs) it will be very difficult for Estrada to overcome if there is a chance to face the Japanese star.
For Estrada to fight Inoue, he’ll need to move up to bantamweight [118] to fight him for the title immediately, as Naoya is expected to start campaigning at 122 soon, possibly after his next bout against the WBO bantamweight champion Paul the butler on December 13.
Estrada is too big to fight at bantamweight. If you see how massive Estrada looked compared to Chocolatito Gonzalez last Saturday night, it’s clear that he can fight at 118 without being underestimated.
The power and Naoya Inoue’s hand speed could be an issue for Estrada as he’s not hard to hit, as we saw last Saturday. If Inoue could connect with as many hits as Chocolatito did, then Estrada would need a good chin to make those big hits.
This is Estrada’s chance to become even greater when facing the next ‘Monster’ Inoue. If Inoue is the undisputed champion after the Butler fight, Estrada will have a chance to win all four belts at 118 before moving on to 115 lb to try to do the same in that weight class.
“It was a great fight with Gonzalez. We ended the trilogy. Hopefully, we can make a fourth war [with Chocolatito],” said Juan Francisco Estrada last Saturday night at press conference after the game after their win over Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez in their trilogy.
“Did you see what happened in the last war [in March 2021]. The most important thing is that I won, and obviously I won this fight. I don’t know why they gave that result,” Estrada said of the referee who scored the Estrada-Gonzale 3 match 114-114, the same result DAZN commentators Sergio Mora and Chris Mannix has scored.
“As long as the judges see me winning, that’s fine, I’m happy and I feel like I’ve clearly won this fight.
“I still feel he has a long way to go. Some people think he’s done. I don’t think he’s done. I think he’s a good fighter, and hopefully, we can do the fourth war,” Estrada said when asked if he believes Roman Gonzalez has lost something since their second game.
“We ended the trilogy. Those were three excellent skirmishes, but if they want a fourth, I think they deserve it. But if not, I want to unify with another champion. That seems like the path I’m going to take.
“I didn’t try to let him win a round, but he did win some. What can I say? He’s a great fighter, but thank God; I won most of the rounds. That’s the important thing. People shout my name, ‘El Gallo’, and that’s what drives me forward.
“I want to fight Inoue, but what motivates me most is the title fight. It’s been a dream to unify since I was a flycatcher. That’s what I’ve always wanted. I want to be consistent, but I haven’t really had a hard time creating super fly.
“Perhaps this win is what gets me into the Hall of Fame and Mexican boxing history. I am very happy but there is still a long way to go,” said El Gallo Estrada.
“The Chocolatito match will always be the biggest one, probably, but we are trying to create as many unified and undisputed champions in a weight class as possible,” Eddie Hearn said when was asked where he wants Estrada to go next.
“Every champion should have a champion. So in the flyweight division, I really feel with [Julio Cesar] Martinez with [Sunny] Edwards, [Jesse ] ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, and with [Artem] Dalakian, we could have an undisputed champion.
“I also want to compete in the super fly division. So the winner of [Kuzoto] Ioka against [Joshua] Franco would be a very good unification, and could see Juan try to be undisputed in 2023. Why not?” Hearn said.
“I don’t know what the plans are for Roman Gonzalez, but like I said, I feel he can still play very well in the future,” Estrada said when asked if Chocolatito should retire. “My advice is that he should stay with boxing because he still has a long way to go.”
“I want to unify all four belts. That would definitely put me in the Hall of Fame. I think this trilogy has also put me in the boxing history books because I think it’s one of the most important trio of fights of the decade,” Estrada said.
