Juan Francisco Estrada was a relative unknown when he moved down from flyweight to junior fly to fight a peak version of Roman Gonzalez in 2012 in Los Angeles.
Estrada, only 22 at the time, lost a unanimous decision to his seemingly unbeatable opponent but he made a strong impression. Everyone who saw that fight seemed to agree: This kid has a bright future.
They were right.
Estrada rolled over one quality opponent after another following the Gonzalez fight to win titles in two divisions and establish himself as one of the top small fighters on the planet, including a place on some pound-for-pound lists. He’s Boxing Junkie’s No. 10.
And after all this time his success could lead back to guess who? Yep, Gonzalez, who has had to overcome his own setbacks to remain a major player in the lower weight classes.
Estrada is scheduled to defend his junior bantamweight title against another rival, Carlos Cuadras, on Friday in Mexico City, where Gonzalez also will defend his belt against Israel Gonzalez.
If they both win, Estrada will have a chance to get his revenge.
“Eight years has passed,” the 30-year-old from Hermosillo told ESPN Deportes. “I hope no more time passes. We don’t’ get any younger. Right now we are in a great moment. We are the two champions, and it would be a unification fight, which is something I have always longed or in my career.
“It would be an extraordinary fight between two champions. It would be the best fight for me, and it would be the best fight for him.”
Of course, Estrada (40-3, 27 KOs) must get past Cuadras (39-3-1, 27 KOs) first. And, if history tell us anything, that won’t be easy.
Estrada and Cuadras met in 2017 in Carson, Calif. Cuadras, a quick, athletic boxer-puncher got off to a strong start but Estrada adjusted, took control of the fight midway through, put Cuadras down in Round 10 and won 114-113 on all three cards.
Had Cuadras remained on his feet, the fight would’ve been a draw. That’s how evenly the two were matched at the time.
Estrada has had more success than Cuadras since then. He lost a razor-thin majority decision to 115-pound champ Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in February 2018 but turned the tables on the power-punching Thai in April of last year, winning a decision to claim a title in a second division.
Cuadras lost a close decision in an upset against McWilliams Arroyo immediately following his loss to Estrada and then beat three second-tier opponents leading into Friday.
“I am excited to return to the ring,” said Estrada, who hasn’t fought since he stopped Dewayne Beamon in August of last year. “It has been tough months for the whole world, and we want to give a great show to all the fans of this sport.
“The first fight against Cuadras was a good fight. Without a doubt, this will be too.”
Gonzalez (49-2, 41 KOs) is expected to have an easier time with Israel Gonzalez, who has come up short in his biggest fights.
“Chocolatito” was written off by some after back to back to losses to Sor Rungvisai – the second a brutal knockout – in 2017, which cost him his No. 1 position on many pound-for-pound lists.
He took a year off and then stormed back, knocking out Moises Fuentes, Diomel Diocos and finally Khalid Yafai to regain a junior bantamweight title this past February, which made a high-stakes rematch with Estrada possible.
All Estrada and Roman Gonzalez have to do now is take care of business Friday. They’ve more or less come to terms on their second fight.
“Roman is a great champion,” Estrada said. “They said he was finished [after the losses to Sor Rungvisai] but he is champion again. He is a champion. The only difference is that I went down from flyweight to mini-flyweight to fight him.
“But we are both in excellent condition to have an excellent fight, better than the first one.”
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