Tag: Diomel Diocos

Roman Gonzalez faces stiff test against titleholder Kal Yafai

Kal Yafai will defends his junior bantamweight title against future Hall of Famer Roman Gonzalez on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card.

Is this Roman Gonzalez’s last stand?

“Chocolotito” is scheduled to challenge unbeaten junior bantamweight titleholder Kal Yafai on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card Saturday night in Frisco, Texas on DAZN.

Not long ago, Gonzalez would’ve been the favorite in such a fight … in any fight. After all, the Nicaraguan dynamo was No. 1 on most credible pound-for-pound lists and considered a surefire first-ballot inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

That was then.

Gonzalez crashed down from his perch in two fights with Thai rival Wisaksil Wangek (Srisaket Sor Rungvisai) in 2017, a major decision in March that laid bare his vulnerability and then a brutal fourth-round knockout in September that turned his career upside down.

He has never the same. Conventional wisdom was that his climb in weight – from as light as 104¼ pounds to 114½ against Wangek – as well as father time (he’s 32 now) had caught up with him. Another factor might’ve been the death of longtime trainer Arnulfo Obando in November 2016, which plunged Gonzalez’s into mourning.

Bottom line: The unstoppable little monster from Central America was gone.

“The knockout to Rungvisai was rock bottom,” Carlos Blandon, Gonzalez’s longtime advisor, told ESPN.com. “Roman had lost his trainer and then he lost the title to Rungvisai in the first fight and then the knockout loss in the second fight. Everything was disintegrating.

“We had to start all over. Now we have a really solid team and we are a couple of days from being champion again and everybody feels very excited.”

Gonzalez (48-2, 40 KOs) also had to deal with bad luck.

He took a year off after the second fight with Wangek to pull himself together and rest. That seemed to rejuvenate him. In his first fight back, in September 2018, he stopped former strawweight titleholder Moise Fuentes in five rounds in a scheduled eight-round junior bantamweight fight.

That was a strong statement by Gonzalez, who hadn’t won a fight in two years. Then, after the Fuentes victory, he was struck by the misfortune: He tore cartilage in his right knee while jogging and required surgery, which kept him out of the ring for another 15 months.

Finally, this past Dec. 23, he returned once again and stopped relative unknown Diomel Diocos in two rounds. The victory didn’t prove much other than to announce he was back but it set up the fight with Yafai, who will be making the sixth defense of his 115-pound title.

The 2008 Olympic from England is only two years younger than Gonzalez but he’s had less wear and tear. And, having never fought below the junior bantamweight division, he’s the naturally bigger man.

Yafai (26-0, 15 KOs) is only a slight favorite but that might be because of Gonzalez’s name more than anything else.

“I’m in the best condition for this fight,” Gonzalez said. “I will take advantage of this opportunity. There’s not a small person in this fight, everyone is very good. I come with a blessing that I will win. Thank you and hope this sport of boxing will be a spectacle for everyone.”

We’ll see whether this a new beginning for Gonzalez or the end.

Roman Gonzalez gets his wish, will face Kal Yafai for title

Roman Gonzalez, the lightest fighter ever ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound, will face junior bantamweight champion Kal Yafai on Feb. 29.

The second step in Roman Gonzalez’s path back to the top is official.

Gonzalez, who fought for the first time in more than a year last month, returned to Nicaragua after a victory over Filipino Diomel Diocos on Dec. 23 in Japan saying he wanted a shot at a world title in his next fight.

Wish granted.

Gonzalez (48-2, 40 KOs), the lightest fighter ever ranked No. 1 pound-for-pound, faces junior bantamweight champion Kal Yafai (26-0, 15 KOs) on the Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card Feb. 29 in Frisco, Texas on DAZN.

Matchroom Boxing made the announcement on Thursday.

“God has responded to my prayers once again,’’ said Gonzalez, who scored a second-round stoppage of Diocos in his first bout in 15 months since knee surgery. “I want to thank God and Teiken [Promotions] foremost. Also, the champion, Kal Yafai, for giving me the opportunity to fight for the championship once again.”

Gonzalez got the title shot instead of Australian Andrew Moloney despite a formal objection from attorney Pat English. English argued that Moloney had earned the title shot. He scored an eighth-round stoppage of Miguel Gonzalez on Mar. 22 in Chile in what was designated as a fight for the right to be the mandatory challenger.

For Yafai, the bout against Roman Gonzalez represents an opportunity to enhance his record against a big name.

“Chocolatito is someone that I have idolized as I worked my way up to become world champion myself,’’ Yafai, a U.K. fighter, said. “So, it doesn’t get much bigger than this, and it will bring out the best in me. I can’t wait.

“It is a case of when idols become rivals.’’

Roman Gonzalez could face Kal Yafai on Mikey Garcia-Jessie Vargas card

Promoter Eddie Hearn told iTV Monday that he is trying to put together a fight between Roman Gonzalez and Kal Yafai.

Román Gonzalez’s plans for 2020 already appear to be coming together, just one week after scoring a second-round stoppage of Diomel Diocos in his first bout in more than a year in Japan.

Promoter Eddie Hearn told iTV Monday that he is trying to put together a fight between Gonzalez and Kal Yafai in a junior bantamweight bout on a DAZN card featuring Mikey Garcia vs. Jessie Vargas on Feb. 29 in Frisco, Texas.

Hearn is looking at Gonzalez as a leading possibility for Yafai in the wake of news that Juan Francisco Estrada suffered a hand injury in training. Estrada, who holds a 115-pound belt, is scheduled for surgery. He is expected to be out until at last May.

“Now, this is the fight that I’m trying to make for Feb. 29 on the Mikey Garcia (card),’’ Hearn said.

Hearn still hopes for an eventual Yafai fight against Estrada. If Hearn is able to negotiate a deal with Gonzalez’s promoter,

of Teiken, Yafai would first have to beat Gonzalez, a former pound-for-pound champion nicknamed Chocolatito.

“If he can beat Chocolatito, then he goes into the Estrada fight in great shape in terms of his earning potential and star power,’’ Hearn said.

Upon his return to Nicaragua last week, Gonzalez (47-2, 39 KOs), the lightest fighter to ever be voted No. 1 in the pound-for-pound debate, named Yafai as somebody he would like to fight next. He also mentioned Kazuto Ioka and Estrada.

Yafai (26-0, 15 KOs), of the U.K., has made five title defenses of a 115-pound belt he won when he beat Luis Concepcion on Dec. 10, 2016.

Ryota Murata stops Steven Butler, Roman Gonzalez returns with TKO

Ryota Murata is back to his winning ways after scoring a fifth-round TKO of Canadian middleweight Steven Butler earlier today in Japan.

Japanese middleweight contender Ryota Murata made short work of Steven Butler, stopping the Canadian in the fifth round today in Yokohama, Japan.

Also on the card, former four-division titleholder Roman Gonzalez shook off the rust from a 15-month layoff to blow past Diomel Diocos in two rounds in a scheduled eight-round bantamweight contest..

Murata, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, dropped Butler with a hard left hook at the end of the final round, prompting referee Rafael Ramos to wave off the fight at 2:45.

The win caps a marked turnaround for the 33-year-old Murata, who suffered a wide decision loss to Rob Brant last year but avenged the loss with a second round knockout in a rematch in July.

“I felt good while I was in the room waiting to come out, and I thought I’d be able to end it quickly,” Murata (16-2, 13 knockouts) said.

Ryota Murata had no problem with Steven Butler on Monday. We’ll see how he does when he faces one of the big boys of the middleweight division. Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP via Getty Images

The gulf in talent was plainly evident. Butler, 24, was fighting just for the second time outside of Canada and had suffered a knockout loss to countryman Brandon Cook in 2017. Early on, Butler (28-2-1, 24 KOs) was willing to trade and had some success targeting the body. But before long, Murata’s superiority began to show as he started putting together his combinations, whipping Butler’s head back with straight rights.

“Butler packed more of a punch than I expected,” Murata said. “I caught him a couple of times with my right. It’s been a turbulent year, but I was ultimately able to fight on my own terms.”

Next year could see Murata involved in a major fight, possibly against the likes of Canleo Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin. Recently, Alvarez spoke of his desire to fight in Japan, while talk of a Golovkin-Murata matchup has circulated for a few years.

Gonzalez (48-2, 40 KOs) showcased his typical offensive bravura, tagging Diocis (14-6-4, 4 KOs) with a flurry of fluid combinations before referee Yuki Fukuchi waved the bout off at 2:20 of the second round.

Though clearly past his prime, Gonzalez, 32, appears capable of making another run at the top contenders of the 115-pound division. That includes former opponents Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, as well as Khalid Yafai.

In other preliminary bouts, Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10 KOs) retained his junior flyweight title with a fourth-round technical knockout of Randy Petalcorin (31-4-1, 23 KOs).

After a tentative start, Teraji began brutalizing Petalcorin’s body in Round 3, dropping the Filipino three times. Teraji dropped Petalcorin once more in Round 4 with a body shot combination, prompting referee Frank Garza to stop it at 1:08. Teraji has made seven successful defenses of his title.

And South Africa’s Moruti Mthalane (39-2, 26 KOs) staved off the always game Akira Yaegashi (28-7, 16 KOs) before stopping the Japanese contender in the ninth round to retain his flyweight title.

Yaegashi had some moments in the mid rounds, but the durable Mthalane turned it up late, hurting Yaegashi in Round 8 with a left hand to the body. In Round 9, Mthalane finished the job, unloading a heap of punches while Yaegashi lay on the ropes. Referee Mario Gonzalez had seen enough at that point, halting the contest at 2:54 of the ninth.