In 2014, Roman Gonzalez had one of the best years of his career. He fought a total of four times. Winning each bout by stoppage and became the second fighter in Nicaragua’s history to win titles in three different weight classes. But the biggest accomplishment that he received was the recognition of the boxing world as one of the top fighters in the world. Needless to say, he no longer has just his country standing behind him and big things seemed to be imminent to Gonzalez.
By the end of 2014 demand for a fight between Gonzalez and his former foe Juan Francisco Estrada had risen to an all time high. The two previously first met in 2012.
Major networks showed interest in broadcasting the fight, but their pockets did not show the same interest as the fighters had expected, which resulted in no rematch being made. Estrada had moved on and already had a fight scheduled, and Gonzalez knew he would fight this month in his home country of Nicaragua but a date and opponent would not be known until these past few days.
On February 28th, Roman Gonzalez will step into the ring for the first time this year against Mexico’s Valentin Leon (38-28-3, 21 KO’s) in Leon, Nicaragua.
Leon’s record would more than likely lead one to assume Gonzalez is in for an easy night, but Leon has been in the ring with some very tough fighters including Brian Viloria, Hernan Marquez and Giovani Segura.
He may be a tougher opponent than what his record indicates, but that can not be determined until fight night. An opponent like Leon is not a bad choice for Gonzalez on such short notice as it will keep him busy until bigger fights come hopefully in the near future. A fighter should not sit on the shelf just because they can not get the bigger fights.
