Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (46-1) returns to action this Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California after the first loss of his career. The former WBC world 115 pound champion has invoked his rematch clause and will face Wisaksil Wangek (43-4-1) as he tries to take back the belt he won back in September of last year with a standout performance over Carlos Cuadras.
Gonzalez was labeled the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world after the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr and he won over a lot of fans with several standout performances, The loss to Wangek was a controversial setback in that many experts disagree with the majority decision in favor of the fighter from Thailand. For Wangek, some of what made him successful in the first fight could carry over to this match. The bottom line is that Gonzalez found himself technically more proficient than Wangek but Chocolatito was also smaller than his opponent, who chose roughhouse tactics whenever he could. Look for the two men to pick up where they left off.
Notably, WBO world super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue is making his first title defense outside of his native Japan. At 13-0, the 23 year old Inoue has the “phenom” label attached to him and he has started to appear in the bottom half of many top 10 p4p lists. Nieves is an unsung fighter out of Cleveland whose (17-1-2) record saw him take the first loss of his career this past March, when he lost a North American title fight to Nikolai Potapov.
Nothing but bragging rights are on the line between former world champions Carlos Cuadras (36-1-1) and Juan Francisco Estrada (35-2). Both men have come up on the short end of classic battles with Gonzalez and both men have been lobbying for a second bout with Gonzalez. Kudosto both men for accepting the tough assignment in what is a talent-laden weight class.
HBO has separated Chocolatito from star Gennady Golovkin and the super flyweight class is being given an excellent platform on the cable giant here. Combine that with a live venue that is becoming legendary for delivering hard-hitting action and HBO may be writing the first chapter of a prolonged Super Flyweight saga.
StubHub Center, Carson, California – HBO
Super Flyweight 12 rounds –
Wisaksil Wangek +265
Roman Gonzalez -385
Super Flyweight 12 rounds –
Antonio Nieves +1300
Naoya Inoue -3000
Super Flyweight 12 rounds –
Carlos Cuadras +155
Juan Francisco Estrada -185
