When you’re a complete badass, nobody wants to fight you. I’m not speaking from personal experience, unfortunately, I’m merely imagining what it must be like to be one.
Citing his frustration with no one wanting to step to him at 112 pounds, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez recently expressed to Tha Boxing Voice his desire to ply his trade in the junior bantamweight division.
In an interview with TBV videographer Sean Zittel following his wide decision victory against McWilliams Arroyo, Chocolatito acknowledged that while a rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada is still feasible, he ultimately plans to make the jump up due to repeated difficulty in finding opponents.
“Well, even if (Estrada) wants to fight or not, (I) know that eventually (I’m) going to have to go up to the 115 category, because in 112 no one wants to fight (me),” Chocolatito said through a translator.
It’s probably for the best. While the 28-year-old Nicaraguan flyweight’s name appears near the top of many hardcore boxing fans’ pound-for-pound lists, he has yet to become a household name among casual fans, nor emerged as a pay-per-view cash cow.
A move up to junior bantamweight would open a Pandora’s box of new matchups for Chocolatito (45-0, 38 KOs). It probably wouldn’t skyrocket him to instant stardom among casual fans, but at least it would create a rejuvenated interest in his career with an entirely new cast of opponents to choose from.
Right now, fans seem fixated on Gonzalez fighting Estrada, and only Estrada. From Chocolatito’s perspective, it’s easy to see how this concept broods frustration — people claiming that only one man in the division can test him, and then not showing a heavy interest when a different fighter accepts the challenge.
To be clear, Chocolatito did not put a time frame on his planned jump to 115 pounds; however, he made it clear that a division change in the near future is imminent.
Gracias a Dios llegue bien a mi patria amada de Nicaragua. Gracias por un recibimiento tan especial. Por Dios y uds doy mi todo. Bendiciones
— Roman Gonzalez (@chocolatitobox) April 25, 2016
In a perfect world, Chocolatito will take a fight with Estrada — the fight everyone is clamoring for — as his final fight at flyweight, and then test his abilities at junior bantamweight. He’ll certainly take some much-deserved time off, having just gone 12 rounds with Arroyo, before calculating his next move.
