This Saturday night on HBO boxing (September 10, 2016), the Forum in Inglewood, California hosts the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world today, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (45-0) as he moves up to the super flyweight division looking for a world title in a fourth weight class. There to oppose him is WBC world champion Carlos Cuadras (35-0-1). Right now, the books have Gonzalez a -800 favorite, with Cuadras paying back at +550. You can be sure that will not sit well with Cuadras. He has held the WBC belt at 115 pounds since May of 2014, and he has held onto the belt through six title defenses. Though the three pounds that Gonzalez is coming up from Flyweight does not seem like much, Cuadras has been fighting in this weight class for more than five years, and he started out as a bantamweight and dropped down. The advantages are slight, but Cuadras is taller by an inch and he has two inches of advantage in reach. The lone blemish on his record is a technical draw, and that came in a fight that ended in the fourth due to an accidental headbutt. He had won the three rounds prior with the judges before the unfortunate ending. Cuadras is from Mexico, and if you don’t think the regional rivalry against the Nicaraguan Gonzalez is a motivator, think again. On top of the other worldly skill set, Gonzalez brings a calm demeanor to his figts and this fight is no different. He is making this move with a lot of planning. For his last handful of defenses, Gonzalez has organized his training camps in Costa Rica, wher ehe would be closer to home and not be facing a language barrier during the day to day. For this fight, he is training in Big Bear, California with HBO comrade Gennady Golovkin and company. He understands that this move must come now if he is going to continue to earn bigger and bigger paychecks from HBO. It is only a matte rof time before the 118 poind bantamweight division calls “Chocolatito” up. Also at the books is the Super Welterweight 10 round bout between Jesus Soto Karass and Yoshihiro Kamegai. This past April the two dueld to a split draw that had one judge giving the fight to each fighter while the third judge had it 95-95. Right now, Kamegai (26-3-2) is a -155 favorite over the Argentine Karass (28-10-4), who is paying back at +135. The first fight went down in Los Anglees on one of Golden Boy’s L.A. Fight Club cards, and that fight will likely get consideration for “Fight of the Year.”
