WBC World flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez (43-0) looked like he was in another dimension on Saturday evening in a one-sided beatdown of Edgar Sosa (51-9) via second-round KO at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
In the second round, the 27-year-old Gonzalez hit the afterburner on the 35-year old Sosa. Flooring the former WBC light flyweight champion three times in the second round before referee Raul Caiz Sr. finally had enough of the massacre and put an end to it at 2:37 of the round. This was Sosa’s third attempt to claim the WBC World flyweight championship and his third defeat. However, this was the first time he was knocked out – brutally stopped – at the hands of the boxer nicknamed ‘Chocolatito.’
Although it was an exciting fight to watch on television, HBO is going to need to do a better job of finding quality opponents for the sturdy Gonzalez – this is no jab at Sosa – but honestly, when was the last time we looked at Sosa and said, ‘Hey, this guy is going places.’ The fact of the matter is, Sosa hasn’t been going places. He hasn’t been a consistent contender for the past four years, and he certainly looked outmatched from the opening bell.
There was some good news that came out of the fight, though, with Gonzalez mentioning his interest in a rematch with WBA Super World and WBO World flyweight champion, Juan Estrada. Estrada whom he beat in November 2012 via unanimous decision when both men were junior flyweights.
Although Gonzalez won the fight clearly, it doesn’t mean it’ll happen again at the flyweight level. For example, Nathan Cleverly 28-2), in November 2014, lost to Tony Bellew in a rematch in a cruiserweight match-up. Cleverly had defeated him previously in a very close fight in the light-heavyweight division in October 2011.
Speaking with ESPN, Gonzalez confirmed his interest.
“I want to fight Juan Estrada next,” Gonzalez said. “I want to fight him as soon as possible, and hopefully on HBO, and in the United States.”
You never know. This could turnout to be another Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez type of rivalry. HBO would be crazy not to televise this type of fight. In the end, both guys could become instant PPV attractions if it turns out to be a hellacious battle, and it’s guaranteed to be. Five of Estrada’s last eight victories have come by knockout or stoppage, and we know the type of power that Gonzalez has in his armory.
Gonzalez is already a three-division world champion at the age of 27, and he’s expected to continue moving up as long as he continues to put guys away at the rate he’s going right now. But, take a lesson from Nonito Donaire and Adrien Broner: don’t move up too fast. If that happens – we’ve seen it happen too often in boxing – we could go from speaking about the next Manny Pacquiao to the next Juan Manuel Lopez.
