Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Chocolatito Gonzalez 2: Why the loaded fight cards deserve attention

It took almost a decade, but Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will finally fight in a regatta on Saturday, 2012, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main event is a rematch between Jessica McCaskill and Cecilia Braekhus and WBA 108-pound champion Hiroto Kyoguchi when she made her debut in the United States when she debuted against Axel Aragon Vega.

Chocolatito (50-2, 41 KOs) won the first battle of Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) and Estrada has been chasing the rematch for more than 3,000 days, following Chocolatito from 108 to 112 kilos to 115 kilos. During this time it was time for many to overtake Chocolatito as an elite fighter, based on back losses against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, by a majority decision and then as a result of the playoffs. These fights took place from Chocolatito fly weight to super fly weight after capturing the WBC title.

A four-fight victory proved that Chocolatito had met a man who was his kryptonite in Rungvisai, just as Ricardo Mayorga was “that guy” of Vernon Forrest in 2003. Now, Chocolatito is the WBA weight champion. the main fighter again.

After losing in the first fight, Estrada has accumulated a 15-1 record, the only loss to Rungvisai in 2018. Although, unlike Chocolatito, Estrada was able to avenge the loss in the 2019 rematch, the WBC gained super flyweight weight. he has twice defended this to successfully organize a unification struggle.

Boxing is a place where unnecessary fights are less competitive on paper and less competitive in the ring. Looking back a few weeks at Canelo Alvarez’s mandatory title defense against Avni Yildirim, it was interesting to see how far Alvarez would beat Yildirim (which happened pretty badly).

That’s not the case with Chocolatito and Estrada 2, as reflected in the tests, as Estrada is just a bit of a favorite -160 in Chocolatito’s +135 William Hill Sportsbook. If the situation demands it, there is also the stylistic appeal of two talented boxers who are always ready to go to war, which will probably be on Saturday.

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Similar to being a competitive review is the bet between McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs) and Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs), which now has the same betting line, with Braekhus -160 favorite WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO recovering women’s welterweight championships.

Braekhus completed one of the most amazing races in the history of women’s boxing and boxing history in general without receiving a 36-fight defeat and in 2009 winning her first world title. He would successfully defend the WBA and WBC. 25 times, he received more belts on the road before meeting McCaskill in August 2020.

McCaskill won a controversial decision that night, and although Braekhus came strong, the result was something that could have had a greater impact, as women struggle shorter (and less) rounds without the silly rules of boxing.

After losing, it seemed like Braekhus, 39, was coming to the end of his career, saying, “I don’t know what’s going to happen right now. I’m very proud to be a part of women’s boxing. This is my last fight, I can quit boxing by saying I was part of it. I took part at this level. That will be my biggest achievement … Women’s boxing is in an amazing place right now, they will be fine without me. “

McCaskill has considered how Braekhus handled the loss, both in acknowledging the decision that the former champion discussed a lot and in raising his retirement after suffering his first career loss.

“Shame on your team for not preparing you for defeat and embarrassing them for being a victim,” McCaskill said in a virtual press conference. “You have to be the champion to say you are.”

McCaskill’s attitude has rubbed Braekhus the wrong way out of that fight. Although Braekhus congratulated McCaskill after the win, McCaskill is not shooting shots.

Kyoguchi (14-0, 9 KOs) is a former IBF minimum champion. She gained 108 pounds and in 2018 gained WBA junior fly weight. He has made two successful defenses with Vega (14-3-1, 8 KOs) ahead. ). The headline of this fight is Kyoguchi focused on fighting outside Asia in his first professional career.

Vega was not a planned opponent for Kyoguchi’s next title defense, but COVID-19 and travel problems sank Thanongsa’s plan to clash with Simsri.

However, the fight allows the wider audience to see one of the world’s greatest talented men at low weights, even as a favorite to keep his title on the road to bigger things, as a potential clash with Felix Alvarado. unified titles at 108 pounds.

This is the level that fight card boxing needs, with competitive high-level fights, interesting background histories, and a touch of rising stars that are unknown on the underlying card. If you’re a sports fan, how do you go about that?