| In a long list of boxers that don’t receive the exposure or worldwide recognition they deserve, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is unfortunately near the top. He currently has an impressive record, 30 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws with 25 of his wins coming by knockout.He began his career at the young age of eighteen in 2005 (Minimumweight division) and spent the early portion of his career fighting in his homeland Nicaragua. For the most part, most men who stepped in the ring with Roman didn’t see the later rounds of the fights since they were usually on their backs looking up, wondering what had just hit them. Armed with power in both hands accompanied with amazing accuracy, good defense, a come forward style and combinations that are rarely seen in today’s boxing, it was only a matter of time until Gonzalez got his shot at a world title.He would get one in 2008 as he traveled to Japan to challenge the proven veteran Yutaka Niida, who had won his WBA title about five years prior and hadn’t lost since. All it took was four rounds for Chocolatito to leave Niida battered and bloody, looking as if he had just taken a twelve round beating. He walked away with the alphabet title that night and defended it three times after. His only close fight while defending his strap came via majority decision against Francisco Rosas in Mexico, Rosas’ hometown (Gonzalez would later erase all doubts people had about him their rematch at 108 lbs when he took Rosas out in two rounds).
2011 was a good year for Chocolatito, he won the WBA Light Flyweight title in March and has impressed in each of the three fights he’s had. Names such as Giovanni Segura and Ivan Calderon have been mentioned in the past but the fights never materialized, mainly due to the fact that Segura could no longer make 108 and Calderon moved back down to 105 after losing both his fights against Segura by knockout. 2012 looks promising for Roman Gonzalez, his last few fights have been televised for the world to see his talents and being only 24, he will likely move up in weight for more lucrative fights. Hopefully boxing fans get to see him against Brian Viloria (WBO flyweight champion) or perhaps the match with Segura will finally get made. Either way, this is one boxer that all true die-hard boxing fans should keep an eye out for this year. |
Article by Frederick Lopez
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