Via Dan Ambrose: Juan Francisco Estrada is reportedly struggling with training for his March 5 trilogy battle with Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and will need to postpone the match.
Estrada vs. Gonzalez III on March 5 is supposed to happen at Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California.
According to ESPN Deportes, 31-year-old ‘El Gallo’ Estrada’s lack of energy could be due to COVID-19. Much will be learned in the coming days about what causes WBA/WBC super flyweight champion Franchise Estrada to lack energy.
Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is expected to reveal the cause of Estrada’s physical problems this week and advise fans on a new target date for the Estrada-Chocolatito trilogy.
You could argue that the delay would give Estrada an advantage over Chocolatito because the talented Nicaraguan would need to re-establish his camp.
He will probably overwork himself while waiting for Estrada to get better or rest. If you’re a Chocolatito, you can’t be satisfied with the fact that Estrada wants more time to train.
Due to the risk involved with Estrada (42-3.28 KOs) facing the punching machine ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (50-3.41 KOs), he will be out of luck by entering the contest under 100 %.
A year ago, Chocolatito threw more than 1000 punches in his rematch with Estrada on March 13, 2021 at the American Aviation Center in Dallas, Texas. Given the level of punishment Estrada received in that fight en route to winning a controversial 12-round split, he should push the trio’s fight back.
It’s not clear what Estrada will do if his body remains unresponsive in April or May. We don’t know if Eatrada’s condition is illness, natural aging, or wear and tear from the war he fought. experienced with Chocolatito.
Estrada made a lot of headers in teamfights and withered in the second half of the contest. While two of the referees shocked Estrada to victory, the boxing world considered the fight a clear victory for Chocolatito.
The two judges who gave Estrada the win did not support him as he was subsequently stoned by fans for being presented with a gift by the two judges who gave him the win.
Last year, Chocolatito, 33, encountered COVID, leading to the fight in Estrada being pushed from late 2021 to March 5, 2022.
“According to several sources close to the matter, ‘Gallo’ tried to train, but his body didn’t react as he wanted, and aware that it was a fight with a high dose of danger, they no intention of leading him to compete without being complete [ready]. COVID could be a cause of discomfort, sources said, but a medical report is still expected,” via ESPN Deportes.
“‘Gallo’ Estrada’s physical condition is not in optimal condition and that could cause his match against Román ‘Chocolatito’ González to be cancelled.”
The flip side of this news is that it could lead to Estrada fans having an excuse for him if he loses the trio match against Chocolatito. If Estrada is defeated, fans will say it’s because he’s sick and 100% in bad shape.
Gonzalez defeated Estrada in their first match in November 2012, winning the 12th round unanimously.
