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WBC junior bantamweight world roster Juan Francisco Estrada will face WBA defending champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in the main event of a DAZN card on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Gonzalez defeated Estrada in 2012 by unanimous decision to defend his WBC junior flyweight title. Since that day, the boxing world has been waiting for revenge.
Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) of Mexico has won 15 of 16 fights since then, and he’s collected titles at 115 and 118 pounds. His only loss in that streak was a majority decision against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2018, a challenge for the WBC junior bantamweight belt. Estrada avenged that loss a year later with a decision victory to claim the title.
“I’ve been waiting for this fight for almost nine years – I’m ready for the occasion,” Estrada said at Thursday’s press conference. “He’s a good champion, he’s a good fighter, and the best man wins.
“It will be better than the first one. It will be a war and the people watching will be the real winners.”
Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs) of Nicaragua lost two consecutive fights to Sor Rungvisai in 2017 and it looked like his career as a first prize fighter was over. But he has since rebounded with four straight wins, including impressive wins in 2020 over Khalid Yafai (TKO9) and Israel Gonzalez (UD).
“It will be a great fight. Juan is a good champion, and we know what we have to do,” said Gonzalez. “I think it’s an important fight, not only for Nicaragua, but also for Mexico. I think both countries are going to be paralyzed on Saturday watching these fights.”
Estrada and Gonzalez are ranked No.1 and No.3 respectively in ESPN’s junior bantamweight rankings.
Also on the card, Jessica McCaskill will defend her undisputed welterweight championship against the fighter whose titles she won, Cecilia Braekhus.
McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs), of Chicago, beat Braekhus by majority decision in August in a close fight. Two judges fought for McCaskill 97-94 and 97-93, while the third judge was drawn, 95-95.
“I’m so ready to punch Cecilia in the face,” McCaskill said. “I mean, like we said, I don’t know Cecilia and there’s no bad blood, but we want it for boxing so badly, it’s going to be the best fight of the night.
“Cecilia returned to retirement after the last fight. It’s not my words – it’s his, so I’m going to make him eat them.
Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs), born in Colombia but fighting outside Norway, won the undisputed championship with a unanimous decision victory over Ivana Habazin in 2014 and defended the belts 10 consecutive times before losing to McCaskill.
“I just want the belts back and McCaskill has kept me very motivated – she has kept me motivated throughout my camp,” Braekhus said. “Last time around, she knows she was lucky, so I think that’s where all this trashy talk comes from.
“[For the first fight] she was at home, she was in her country of origin, all the judges were at home … I did not play at the top. Saturday, I will be at my best and she is far from being at my level. “
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Current fight: Souleymane Cissokho vs Daniel Echeverria, 8 rounds, junior middleweight
Results:
Kyoguchi defends title against Aragon Vega
Hiroto Kyoguchi took a stoppage in the fourth round in an unfortunate end for Alex Aragon Vega.
After Vega (14-4-1, 8 KOs) was able to hook up with reigning WBA junior flyweight champion of Japan in the opening rounds of the bout, Vega’s night was cut short after appearing to be suffering from a hand injury in the fourth. round.
After a right hook that glanced at Kyoguchi’s forehead, the Mexican challenger immediately grimaced and retreated to the ropes while squeezing his hand.
The fight was immediately stopped as Vega was in too much pain to continue. Medics immediately cut off Vega’s glove and hand bandages while Vega was still sitting in the ring.
Kyoguchi (15-0, 10 KOs) made the third belt defense he won in a 10th round TKO against Hekkie Budler in 2018.
Williams takes care of cases against Douglin
Austin Williams outscored Denis Douglin in an action-packed middleweight clash en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Williams, who fights in Houston, landed some big punches throughout the eight-round bout and came close to securing a save victory. In the seventh round, Williams (8-0, 6 KOs) landed a big right uppercut that sent Douglin (22-8, 14 KOs) back to the ropes. However, Douglin, the Las Vegas-based veteran, managed to land enough punches to quell Williams’ attack and get to the bell without going down.
Douglin stepped in to replace Aaron Coley, who was Williams’ initially intended opponent. Williams earned his third victory in the past three months, while Douglin has lost four of his last six fights.
Ford and Perez fight over coin toss
In a bout between two undefeated fighters, rising prospect Raymond Ford was more heralded than his opponent, Aaron Perez. However, Perez gave Ford all he could manage and ultimately did enough to win a draw in an eight-round featherweight bout that kicked off the Estrada-Chocolatito undercard. on DAZN.
Perez (10-0-1, 6 KOs), of El Paso, Texas, was aggressive early on and used clubbing hooks and unorthodox angles to give Ford trouble in the opening rounds. Perez slowed down in the second half of the fight as Ford (8-0-1, 4 Kos), of Camden, New Jersey, found success with a few big punches to the body and was able to maintain the distance with his precise shots.
But that damage wasn’t enough to hold Perez late. On the eighth and final lap, Perez and Ford engaged in great exchanges.
One judge scored it 78-74 for Perez, while another scored it 77-75 for Ford. A judge produced a 76-76 scorecard, which resulted in the toss.
Still to come:
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Title fight: Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, for the WBC title of Estrada and the WBA title of Gonzalez
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Title fight: Jessica McCaskill vs. Cecilia Braekhus, 10 rounds, for the Undisputed Welterweight Championship (WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF)
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