12/3 DAZN: Chocolatito vs Juan Francisco Estrada 3 (vacant WBC Super Flyweight Title)

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ESTRADA-CHOCOLATITO TRILOGY HEADS TO GLENDALE, AZ – MARTINEZ AND ARROYO SET AS CO-MAIN
Super-Flyweight rivals meet for the third time on December 3 as ‘El Rey’ defends WBC belt against Mexican
The trilogy clash between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez will take place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona on Saturday December 3, live worldwide on DAZN – and Eddie Hearn and Matchroom are delighted to announce that Julio Cesar Martinez will meet McWilliams Arroyo for his WBC World Super-Flyweight title as the co-main event on a blockbuster night of action in Arizona.

TICKETS GO ON PRESALE TOMORROW (OCTOBER 4) AT 10AM (MST) AND GENERAL SALE ON WEDNESDAY AT 10AM (MST) VIA TICKETMASTER

Estrada (43-3 28 KOs) and Chocolatito (51-3 41 KOs) will finally go toe-to-toe for the third time in their storied careers, with their last meeting in March 2021 a fight of the year contender that Estrada edged via split decision in Dallas. That victory levelled the score between the pair, after Chocolatito won their first battle back in November 2012 in Los Angeles, and now they will lock horns once again for their third mouth-watering battle a decade on from the first.

Martinez (18-2 14 KOs) and Arroyo (21-4 16 KOs) are also renewing their rivalry on December 3, after their firefight of a first contest in November was sadly cut short after an accidental headclash caused a cut for Arroyo, ending a chaotic three round whirlwind that saw both fighters hit the canvas in the opening session, and Arroyo visit the deck again in the second.

There’s more action to be added to the card soon, and promoter Eddie Hearn believes the final Matchroom show of 2022 in America could be the most explosive yet, with Martinez and Arroyo providing the tastiest of appetizers before the stunning main event.

“What a night this is going to be,” said Hearn. “The trilogy battle between Estrada and Chocolatito is guaranteed to be a thriller, and Martinez and Arroyo have given us a taste of what they provide when they tangle.

“Estrada and Chocolatito will go down as one of the great rivalries in the sport, and on December 3, one of these two modern greats will edge ahead of the other, and that promises to make this the most thrilling of the three clashes – it’s an early Christmas present for fight fans that you do not want to miss.”
 

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McWilliams Arroyo Injured, New Opponent Sought For Julio Cesar Martinez

BY JAKE DONOVAN
Published Tue Nov 08, 2022, 04:50 PM EST
Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo continue to find ways to not meet in the ring.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the oft-postponed WBC flyweight title consolidation bout takes another hit. An undisclosed injury has forced Puerto Rico’s Arroyo to withdraw from their scheduled December 3 rematch to have aired on DAZN from the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

A new opponent will be sought for Mexico City’s Martinez (18-2, 14KOs; 2NC), who will remain on the show in what will now become a voluntary title defense. Matchroom Boxing matchmaker Kevin Rooney Jr. confirmed the development during the annual WBC convention in Acapulco.

The rematch was due to serve as the chief support on a show headlined by the anticipated rubber match between lineal junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (43-3, 28KOs) and former four-division champ Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-3, 41KOs).

Instead, the bout suffers his fourth delay in a rivalry that appears to have been doomed from the sport. It comes less than three weeks after Arroyo (21-4, 16KOs; 1NC) strangely announced his retirement, only to clarify that it will come after his rematch with Martinez.

For now, it means a delay until 2023 unless the interim WBC flyweight titlist walks away from the sport altogether.

Martinez will seek to make the fifth defense of his title against an opponent to be determined, having not fought since a non-title fight points loss to Gonzalez on March 5 in San Diego.

The one actual meeting between the two came last November 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The fight came together after Martinez previously withdrew from an August 2020 clash due to illness and a February 2021 showdown in Miami Gardens, Florida due to injury. Their planned rematch on June 25 in San Antonio saw Mexico City’s Martinez withdraw during fight week, once again citing illness. The development came too far into fight week for Matchroom Boxing to secure a replacement opponent in time to leave Arroyo on the show.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
 

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The Golden Era of The Hardcore Four​

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BY CLIFF ROLD
Published Fri Dec 02, 2022, 01:23 AM EST
2022 started with different plans.
At the start of the year, we were headed toward two more chapters of the four-way, ten-year saga that has been at the center of a golden era at Jr. bantamweight. Carlos Cuadras-Srisaket Sor Rungvisai II and then Juan Francisco Estrada-Roman Gonzalez III were all set. It seemed inevitable we'd see both those fights result in at least one more clash between the four before the year was over.
It didn't work out that way.
Estrada pulled out of the Gonzalez rubber match due to COVID. Sor Rungvisai fell ill, pulled out of the Cuadras rematch and time's wheel turned.
Youthful talent Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez leapt from Jr. flyweight to defeat Cuadras as a late replacement and then followed with a stoppage win over Sor Rungvisai. Gonzalez accepted and then battered WBC flyweight titlist Julio Cesar Martinez as a replacement in March. Estrada, inactive since receiving the decision in the second fight with Gonzalez in March 2021, didn't return until September with a tough decision win over unheralded Argi Cortes.
Saturday (DAZN/PPV, 8 PM EST), we arrive at an intended destination after all. The 32-year old Estrada (43-3, 28 KO) will attempt his fifth defense of the lineal Jr. bantamweight crown versus the 35-year old Gonzalez (51-3, 41 KO) in one of the best matches boxing could have made this year.
Estrada-Gonzalez is one of the best matches boxing can make in any year as evidenced twice already.
The rubber match takes place on a different game board than what we had at the start of the year. Rodriguez, who won a version of the WBC title against Cuadras (Estrada is their franchise champion and the regular WBC belt is on the line this weekend), has vacated and dropped to flyweight. WBO titlist Kazuto Ioka (29-2, 15 KO) will face WBA tiltist Joshua Franco (18-1-2, 8 KO) in a New Year's Eve unification. Fernando Martinez (15-0, 8 KO) has replaced Jerwin Ancajas as IBF titlist, breathing new life into the title scene.
It's impossible to say Estrada-Gonzalez III will definitely be the last clash between Jr. bantamweight's "hardcore four," but it feels like it could be. Sor Rungvisai (50-6-1, 43 KO) is 35 and coming off his first knockout loss since being stopped in his first two pro starts in 2009. Cuadras (39-5-1, 27 KO), is 34 and has lost two straight. The winner this weekend versus the winner of Ioka-Franco is the fight that will make the most sense in 2023.
If this, the eleventh clash between the four, is the finale of their rivalry, boxing has been more than blessed. A collection of talents who started firmly in the category of hardcore fan darlings evolved to elevate each other to be much more.
It started with Gonzalez and Estrada, an unanticipated Jr. flyweight classic on the undercard of Brian Viloria-Tyson Marquez. If it ends there this weekend, it will be fitting. No one could have known in November 2012 what was getting started. In May 2014, when Cuadras defeated Sor Rungvisai in their contest, the coming tide still was just rising. This whole thing happened organically, with nine of the eleven fights happening since 2016.
As of today, the records against each other are:



  • Estrada (4-2, 1 KO)


  • Sor Rungvisai (3-2, 1 KO)


  • Gonzalez (2-3, 1 KOBY)


  • Cuadras (1-3, 1 KOBY)


No matter what happens this weekend, if this is the final chapter Estrada would end the series with the most wins and as the only man in the series with a win over each of his rivals. Gonzalez would need an official win over Sor Rungvisai even if some still argue his case in their first of two encounters.
Gonzalez, who won titles in each of the four weight classes from strawweight to Jr. bantamweight, is already a certain Hall of Famer. A win for Estrada this weekend would leave him at 5-2 in this series and should make him a lock for anyone still on the fence.
Debatable decisions have helped fuel the series in ways that worked out in the long run for the fans. If Gonzalez gets the decision against Sor Rungvisai in their first fight, we might never have seen Estrada-Cuadras or Estrada-Sor Rungvisai, at least not in the order we did. Cuadras-Gonzalez II might instead have headlined the inaugural SuperFly card.
Similarly, if Gonzalez had gotten the decision most seem to think he deserved in the Estrada rematch last year, there's no rubber match this weekend. In a winter without Errol Spence-Terence Crawford, this third contest is a reminder of the best of boxing.
Would anyone replace what was and is for guesses at what might have been? This is too good a bird in the hand.
If Estrada-Gonzalez III is half what the first two fights were, it will be one of the best fights of the year. The quality across the first ten bouts has been consistently high with several fights exceeding all expectations. Thinking about the series, there just haven’t been any bad fights. The closest would be the Cuadras-Sor Rungvisai fight, a still quite good fight that was heating up when a cut ended it early.
We’ve seen Gonzalez come off the floor against Sor Rungvisai and force the Thai banger to literally run away from him in the final round of their first fight…Sor Rungvisai stretch Gonzalez in their rematch…Estrada come off the floor to stop Cuadras in their rematch…Estrada and Sor Rungvisai split two memorable battles….Cuadras and Gonzalez beating the hell out of each other.
And we’ve borne witness to Estrada and Gonzalez letting loose thousands of punches against each other, never backing down, pushing each other to be greater every step of the way.
We’re about to see it again.
It couldn’t end any other way.
Cliff’s Notes…
As a closing note, here’s a personal ranking of the fights of the series so far. The first five were all of Fight of the Year contenders and number one may be the greatest fight in the history of the division, a likely unanimous fight of the year if not for the combined action and spectacle of Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko that same year:
1) Sor Rungvisai-Gonzalez I
2) Gonzalez-Estrada I
3) Estrada-Gonzalez II
4) Estrada-Cuadras II
5) Gonzalez-Cuadras
6) Sor Rungvisai-Estrada I
7) Estrada-Cuadras I
8) Estrada-Sor Rungvisai II
9) Sor Rungvisai-Gonzalez II
10) Cuadras-Sor Rungvisai

Everyone who saw them all can enter this weekend already grateful. That there is still room to finish the era beyond this four-man play in 2023 leaves us with plenty to still look forward too.
 

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Juan Francisco Estrada, Chocolatito Gonzalez Make Weight For Trilogy Clash​

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BY JAKE DONOVAN
Published Fri Dec 02, 2022, 03:32 PM EST
GLENDALE, Arizona – Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez once again under the divisional limit for a highly anticipated showdown with Juan Francisco Estrada.
The legendary former four-division champion was 114.7 pounds during the official weigh-in as monitored by the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission for his challenge of Estrada’s lineal junior bantamweight championship and the vacant WBC title. Estrada came in right at the 115-pound divisional limit for their rubber match on Saturday, live on DAZN from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Nicaragua’s Gonzalez (51-3, 41KOs) was also 114.7 pounds in a dominant 12-round win over Julio Cesar Martinez, who badly missed weight on his first two tries. The WBC flyweight titlist had to make a commission-mandated same-day weight limit to proceed with the bout, where Gonzalez soundly outpointed him over twelve rounds in their March 5 non-title fight in San Diego, California.
Friday’s weight for Gonzalez was one ounce lighter than in his rematch with Estrada, when both fighters weighed 114.8 pounds for their Fight of the Year-level slugfest last March 13 in Dallas. Estrada prevailed via disputed split decision to unify the lineal/WBC/WBA titles.
The WBC and WBA belts were since vacated, though the WBC strap is back on the line after Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (17-0, 11KOs) relinquished the crown as he moved back down to flyweight.
Gonzalez and Estrada both weighed 107 ¾ pounds for their first meeting in November 2012. Gonzalez defeated Estrada via unanimous decision in the final defense of his WBA junior flyweight title.
The weigh-in for the co-feature didn’t feature any drama, a refreshing change of pace for Martinez who won’t need multiple tries to make weight for his WBC title defense versus Spain’s Samuel Carmona.
Mexico City’s Martinez (18-2, 14KOs; 2NC) was 111 pounds, well under the limit for the fifth attempted defense of the title he won three years ago in nearby Phoenix. Carmona (8-0, 4KOs)—a 2016 Olympian—was 111.4 pounds ahead of his first career title fight.
DAZN Main Undercard (8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT)
Diego Pacheco (16-0, 13KOs), Los Angeles, California, 167.4 pounds vs. Adrian Luna (24-8-2, 16KOs), Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico, 168 pounds—10 rounds, super middleweight
Joselito Velazquez (15-0-1, 10KOs), Oaxaca, Mexico, 112.3 pounds vs. Cristofer Rosales (34-6, 21KOs), Managua, Nicaragua, pounds—10 rounds, flyweight
DAZN ‘Before The Bell’ Preliminary Undercard (5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT)
Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (12-0, 9KOs), Houston, Texas via Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 162.1 pounds vs. Simon ‘Vikingo’ Madsen (13-0, 10KOs), Cancun, Mexico via Horsens, Denmark, 160.6 pounds—10 rounds, middleweight
Marc Castro (8-0, 6KOs), Fresno, California, 133.6 pounds vs. Maickol Lopez (16-3, 8KOs), Miami via Mexico City, 132 pounds—8 rounds, lightweight
Anthony Herrera (3-0-1, 2KOs), Los Angeles, 119.6 pounds vs. Christian Sullivan (8-0, 5KOs), Casa Grande, Arizona, 119.7 pounds—6 rounds, junior bantamweight
Beatriz Ferreira (1-0, 0KOs), Sao Paulo, Brazil, 129.5 pounds vs. Carisse Brown (7-2, 4KOs), Lakeland, Florida, 129.3 pounds—6 rounds, junior lightweight
 
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