Via Matt Lieberman: Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Julio Cesar ‘El Rey’ Martinez have ten days left before meeting in the main event on DAZN on March 5 at Pechanga Arena, in San Diego, California.
27-year-old Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) has agreed to replace WBC Franchise / WBA super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada as the opponent for former 4-division world champion Chocolatito (50-3, 41 KOs).
Estrada had trouble coming back from a recent illness, so he withdrew from the card. Fortunately for boxing fans, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was able to bring Rey Martinez in to face 34-year-old Chocolatito.
This is the most prominent name that Martinez will face during his seven-year professional career.
Martinez may have had enough youth to vent his sadness because he caught Chocolatito at the perfect time in his 17-year-old professional career.
Chocolatito lost his final fight to Juan Estrada by decision to split 12 rounds in Dallas last year in March 2021. The decision was unpopular with boxing fans, who felt that Roman had done enough to win the game. deserve to win.
Chocolatito vs. Martinez = all action fight
“The disappointment of the Romans Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada’s removal of ‘Chocolatito’ season 3 lasted only a few days. Eddie Hearn was able to save the show by making Julio Cesar Martinez, the 112-lb WBC champion, put on weight and face Chocolatito at 115-lbs,” said Chris Mannix above. JABS on the DAZN Boxing Show.
Faltan 10 Dias
10 days left#ChocolatitoMartinez pic.twitter.com/LextixkMfc
– DAZN boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 23, 2022
“This match will definitely be an all-around fight in the weight class that Chocolatito is familiar with. Martinez, however, does not. I will ask you this. Did Martinez make the mistake of stepping up against Chocolatito? ”
“No, he is not because this is the right time for Martinez. He has some momentum to get his way,” said Sergio Mora on Julio Cesar Martinez, rising from 112 to 115.
“He’s the younger boxer at 26; He’s a punching machine that doesn’t stop from different angles. He will be very difficult for anyone to fight.
“He’s making a splash at flyweight, and we know that Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez is the flyweight king, one of the greatest boxers of our time. He’s a four-time world champion, and every boxer wants a legend on their résumé.
“I had the honor of fighting a legend at Shane Mosley, and I will never forget that. I fought Vernon Forrest, an all-time great. Every boxer wants that. So at this point in Martinez’s career, he knows he’s shooting all the turrets. Quite possibly, you make this fight against aging as great as Chocolatito Gonzalez,” says Mora.
“I agree with you. I don’t think Martinez has any downsides,” Mannix said. “If he goes forward and loses, he can always step back. A united fight against [IBF flyweight champion] Sunny Edwards will be there. “
Martinez looked great in the non-head-to-head three-round competition against McWilliams Arroyo last November. The fight had to be stopped because Arroyo suffered a head injury.
Martinez was playing better than Arroyo at the time, and some boxing fans believe McWilliams bailed out the match to not be knocked down.
Before that fight, Martinez’s best victories came with these boxers:
- Cristofer Rosales
- Jay Harris
- Jay Selby
In 2019, Martinez took on Charlie Edwards for an unrivaled three-round competition. Martinez would have won if he hadn’t hit Edwards when he fell after dropping him.
A win-win situation for El Rey Martinez
“Another fight against McWilliams Arroyo is going to be there,” Mannix said. “So going up is a no-risk proposition. It’s all the opposite here for Julio Cesar Martinez.
“If I were Martinez, I wouldn’t really see it that way either because Chocolatito looked great against Estrada in the aftermath of last year’s Chocolatito-Estrada part 2 fight.
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“Perhaps it was the war that Chocolatito left all on the table. He put all his strength into getting one last great performance, which he put on against Estrada.
“Chocolatito did a great job of rebuilding itself after successive defeats against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. He defeats Kal Yafai, and then he has a great fight against Juan Francisco Estrada.
“That could have been the end, and if that was the end for Chocolatito, a big boxer like Martinez has a great shot to win.
“So if I were Martinez, I wouldn’t just be in this match, but I’d be happy because I’m going to be fighting a legend, but I have to believe I have a chance to beat a legend,” Mannix said.
It could be a win-win for Martinez if he doesn’t get beaten and perform well. With a fighter like Chocolatito, it’s hard to know how well Martinz will do against him.
Chocolatito has a lot of miles on the tank
“Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if Martinez were the favorites, but it would be pretty even,” Mora said with confidence that bettors will watch Chocolatitor vs. Martinez is a close 50-50 fight.
“Betters are not stupid, and they will know that Chocolatito has plenty of miles left in the pool. He’s a legend with a lot of fights under him, and boxers get old overnight.
“I mentioned that in his last two games, actually going back to Kal Yafai in that sadness, Chocolatito and legends and great warriors like that, has the ability to bring together things. that a normal champion cannot.
“That’s why normal champions can’t understand them, let alone writers like you. So I think it’s the perfect opportunity for Martinez ‘El Rey’ to be at the top of the fly and beat a king like Chocolatito Gonzalez,” said Mora.
“Didn’t I ask you to stop mentioning your Mosley fight? I don’t want to have to relive that. It was painful,” Mannix said.
“He was an all-time great, and I competed with an all-time great. It was a draw, 12 innings, honey,” Mora said.
Mannix said: “Yes, all-time horror is like that.
