Juan Francisco Estrada ekes out victory over Roman Gonzalez in classic brawl

For Juan Francisco Estrada, it was worth the wait. The same goes for the fans.

Estrada and Roman Gonzalez served up a classic brawl Saturday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, eight-plus years after Gonzalez defeated a relatively unknown Estrada by a unanimous decision in a 108-pound fight.

This time, Estrada had his hand raised by a split decision, which allowed him to unify two 115-pound titles and take firm control of the division.

The Mexican had to go through hell to do it, though. Gonzalez, who rebuilt his career after consecutive losses in 2017, was near his best at 33 years old in a grueling fight that could’ve gone either way.

That fact wasn’t lost on Estrada, who said a third fight between them is in order.

“I think I did enough to win [but] Chocolatito is a great fighter. I think he deserves the trilogy,” he said.

Roman Gonzalez (right) gave a vintage performance but came up just short.  Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs) got off to a strong start, outboxing and outworking Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KOs) in first few rounds.

Then Gonzalez picked up his punch rate and the battle began in earnest. Estrada did a good job of fighting off his jab, beating Gonzalez to the punch, throwing quick combinations and moving much of the fight.

However, the Nicaraguan’s relentless pressure forced his Mexican rival into regular fire fights, which served Gonzalez well. He often landed the cleaner, more-eye-catching punches when he was in range.

Remarkably, given the ability and power of both fighters, neither of them was seriously hurt over the 12 taxing rounds.

The fight seemed to be close going into the final few rounds, which was reflected in the scoring of two official judges and the Boxing Junkie scorecard. That perception probably accounted for insane punch rates for both fighters in Rounds 11 and 12.

In the end, two judges scored it for Estrada (117-111 and 115-113) and one had Gonzalez winning (115-113). Boxing Junkie scored it a 114-114 draw.

Estrada was pleased — and fortunate — to remain a titleholder.  Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

Estrada was told by his trainer before the start of Round 10 that he needed a knockout to win the fight, which might have been his way of trying to motivate his fighter. The fighter was asked afterward where he thought he stood at that point.

“I knew it was a close fight,” he said through a translator. “I didn’t know if I was up or down. I knew I had to close out the fight the last two rounds.”

Gonzalez accepted the defeat in a typically gracious manner.

“Whatever happened had to happen,” he said. “I gave it a good fight. I would’ve been happy either way with the result. I did my work.”

The more he spoke the more emotional he became.

“It was a better fight than the first one,” he said. “I felt strong and I felt I won. In the last round I gave it all. It was a great round. That’s what God wanted, the result was what God wanted.

“And I’m happy because I’m going back home to see my family.”

Next up for Estrada is mandatory challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, who stopped Kwanthai Sithmorseng after three rounds on Friday in Thailand.

Estrada, who took Sor Rungvisai’s title in 2019, confirmed in so many words that he would follow through on that obligation but reiterated that fans can expect to see one more fight between him and Gonzalez before all is said and done.

“Rungvisai is the mandatory so I’ll look at that,” he said. “But I’ll approach a third fight any day with Chocolatito.”