Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman Gonzalez: LIVE round-by-round updates, results, full coverage
Juan Francisco Estrada survived a rally from rival Roman Gonzalez to win a majority decision and the vacant WBC 115-pound title in their third fight Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.
Two judges had Estrada winning, 116-112 and 115-113. The third had it even, 114-114.
Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) got off to a strong start, outboxing and outworking Chocolatito in the first half of the fight and seemed to be on his way to clear decision.
However, Gonzalez (51-4, 41 KOs) fought with more urgency beginning around Round 6, attacking Estrada with abandon and landing many eye-catching shots from then on.
The fight seemed to be in the balance going into the final round, which Estrada appeared to win.
Estrada and Gonzalez had split two earlier fights.
You can read a full report here.
ROUND 12
Great final round. Both men fought with urgency, as if the result of the fight was in the balance. And it might’ve been. Estrada had his best round since the middle of the fight. He probably edged it because of his activity. Who do you think won the fight?
ROUND 11
Estrada did a little better than round, picking his pace. He stood his ground more and let his hands fly. However, Gonzalez is still the one plowing forward, swarming Estrada with punches. It would’ve been difficult to give Estrada that round.
ROUND 10
Same story. Gonzalez is in control. Now he’s consistently busier than Estrada, he’s the one landing more hard, accurate combinations, he’s the one beating his opponent to the punch. The question seems to be: Did Gonzalez dig himself too big of a hole early in the fight?
ROUND 9
The fight is competitive but it’s Gonzalez now who’s outworking Estrada. He looks a lot like the Chocolatito we’ve seen over the years, a relentlessly aggressive puncher. Estrada is holding his own but it’s getting harder and harder for him.
ROUND 8
Chocolatito’s best round? Gonzalez just marched forward and imposed his will on Estrada that round, landing some punishing blows even as Estrada tried to backpedal out of the way. Estrada had some good moments but it was Gonzalez’s round.
ROUND 7
Competitive, back-and-forth round. Both men landed clean, eye-catching combinations. Estrada seems to be more accurate with his shots overall, though. And the Mexican might’ve been a little busier.
ROUND 6
Something seems to be missing from Gonzalez, who can’t keep up with the younger Estrada. Once again, he pushed the action at times, fought with urgency. But he’s not getting that much done. He’s still being outboxed.
ROUND 5
Good round for Estrada, who is outboxing and outworking Gonzalez and just beating him to the punch most of the time. Again, Chocolatito had some good moments but it’s not enough to win rounds.
ROUND 4
Another fun round. Estrada is boxing well, landing hard combinations and not taking too many shots. However, Chocolatito is still landing some eye-catching shots, which is keeping the fight comepetitive.
ROUND 3
Great round. Gonzalez began to fight with some urgency, pushing the action and letting his hands go. Estrada boxed well — countering when Gonzale attacked — but he suddenly had to contend with a beast. They had a wild exchange at the end of the round.
ROUND 2
Estrada is outboxing and outworking Gonzalez at the moment. The Mexican is busy, landing some of his punches and using his feet to frustrate his Nicaraguan opponent at this point.
ROUND 1
Neither guy let loose in the opening round. Estrada was a little busier, particularly with his jab. That probably won him the round. Call it a feel-out round.
***
Julio Cesar Martinez defeated Samuel Carmona by a majority decision to retain his flyweight title. Two judges scored it for the champion, 117-111 and 116-112. The third judge had it even, 114-114.
Carmona (8-1, 4 KOs) got off to a strong start, sticking and moving his way to an early lead on the cards. However, the 2016 Olympian, who fights from an orthodox stance, evidently injured his right hand around the fourth or fifth round.
He then became a one-handed fighter who ran more than he fought, which opened the door for Martinez (19-2, 14 KOs) to take control of the strange fight. Martinez had trouble landing punches against the elusive Spaniard the entire fight but did more than his opponent in the second half.
Carmona decided to stand his ground a bit more down the stretch, which resulted in competitive rounds. However, he evidently lost too much ground in the middle of the fight.
Martinez was making the fifth defense of the WBC belt.
***
Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez are scheduled to meet for a vacant 115-pound title Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, the third time they will have fought one another.
The main portion of the show begins at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The main event will take place later in the broadcast.
Boxing Junkie will post results of the main event and other featured bouts immediately afterward. Simply return to this post and refresh when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
