Julio Cesar Martinez is good. Roman Gonzalez is great, even at 34.
“Chocolatito” proved again that he’s far from finished, outclassing his Mexican counterpart to win a wide unanimous decision in a 12-round 115-pound fight and remain among the elite in sport Saturday night at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
Gonzalez (51-3, 41 KOs) started slowly, getting a feel for Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs) in the first few minutes of the fight. Then, after he knew what he was up against, he shifted into another gear and took complete control of what was expected to be a competitive fight.
He performed like the fighting machine he has always been, attacking incessantly and landing precise, clean shots with remarkable consistency given Martinez’s ability.
Martinez, a 112-pound titleholder, had success in flurries here and there. And he never even thought about giving up, trying to match the Nicaraguan legend’s pace and ferocity until the final bell.
However, by the end of the fight, Martinez might’ve taken more hard punches in this 36 minutes than he had in his previous 19 bouts combined. Or so it seemed.
“I’m very surprised [Martinez survived]. It indicated that he came in very great condition,” Gonzalez said.
Some might want to temper their praise of Gonzalez because Martinez took the fight on short notice and moved up a division, which is reasonable. At the same time, he demonstrated without doubt that he remains near the top of his game at a time when many little men are finished.
The final scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. Boxing Junkie scored it 118-110 for Gonzalez, 10 rounds to two.
“We should change his name from Chocolatito to Benjamin Button,” said promoter Eddie Hearn, referring to the Brad Pitt film character who aged in reverse. “It was an incredible performance. He just gets better and better.”
Retirement obviously isn’t in Gonzalez’s immediate plans but he addressed that notion after the fight, saying, “I still don’t know when I’ll retire. Maybe a few more fights.”
A few more big fights, it appears. Gonzalez lost a disputed decision in his previous fight to titleholder and rival Juan Francisco Estrada, who was his original opponent for Saturday before he pulled out after contracting COVID-19.
That matchup, which would be the third between them, would make the most sense for both fighters. But Gonzalez would also like another shot at his conqueror Srisaket Sor Rungvisai or would be willing to fight one of the younger, rising 115-pounders.
It seems Gonzalez doesn’t really care who’s next. “Whatever comes,” he said.
Whomever he faces, fans can be fairly certain that they’ll be watching a still-formidable version of one of the greatest fighters of his generation. He made that clear on Saturday night.
