Tag: Moises Calleros

Juan Francisco Estrada got his rematch with Roman Gonzalez. But he had to go through hell to get it.

Estrada stopped Carlos Cuadras late in Round 11 of a classic Mexican-style brawl Friday night at the Gimnasio TV Azteca in Mexico City, setting up a second meeting with Gonzalez, who outpointed Israel Gonzalez on the same card.

Estrada and Cuadras gave fans a great fight in 2017, with Estrada winning a close decision that was decided by a late knockdown. That fight was nothing compared with the rematch.

The fighters came out firing almost from the opening bell and never really let up, turning the bout into a war of attrition.

Cuadras drew first blood in the final minute of Round 3, when a left hook sent Estrada tumbling into the ropes for a knockdown, which made it clear that the favored fighter had his work cut out.

And that’s how he reacted. He came out for Round 4 as if he was angry. The counter puncher turned into an aggressive warrior, taking the fight to Cuadras in an obvious effort to compensate for what had happened the previous round.

Cuadras’ mouth was hanging open before the fight was half over, a sign that he was beginning to tire. However, inspired by the moment, he persevered and continued to give almost as much as he took.

Estrada, who landed the more precise, harder punches, seemed to have a clear advantage on the cards going into the final few rounds but Cuadras had a few strong stanzas down the stretch. That gave him hope going into Round 11.

However, the punishing shots Cuadras absorbed – including many to the body – finally took their toll. Estrada put him down with a right that clipped the top of his head about 15 seconds into the round. He then landed another right that put Cuadras on his behind.

The referee allowed the fight to continue even though Cuadras was hurt and exhausted but a flurry of punches convinced the official that enough was enough and he stopped the fight, which preserved Estrada’s junior bantamweight title.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:22.

With the victory, Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) bolstered the perception that he’s the best fighter in the lowest weight classes. More important to him perhaps, he is now expected to get another shot at Gonzalez early next year.

The two met for the first time in 2012, when Estrada was only 22. Gonzalez won a clear unanimous decision but the loser made a statement. It was obvious to anyone who saw that fight that Estrada had something special.

Of course, things are different today. Estrada might be at his peak at 30 years old. Gonzalez, 33, was thought to be finished when he lost back-to-back fights to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2017 but rebounded to reclaim a title and his place among the elite 115-pounders.

Estrada would have it no other way. He has coveted a rematch with his rival for eight years. He wants to fight – and beat – the best version of Gonzalez possible.

Well, he’ll finally get his chance. After what we saw on Friday, the only sure winners will be the fans.

[lawrence-related id=14958,14955]

Juan Francisco Estrada got his rematch with Roman Gonzalez. But he had to go through hell to get it.

Estrada stopped Carlos Cuadras late in Round 11 of a classic Mexican-style brawl Friday night at the Gimnasio TV Azteca in Mexico City, setting up a second meeting with Gonzalez, who outpointed Israel Gonzalez on the same card.

Estrada and Cuadras gave fans a great fight in 2017, with Estrada winning a close decision that was decided by a late knockdown. That fight was nothing compared with the rematch.

The fighters came out firing almost from the opening bell and never really let up, turning the bout into a war of attrition.

Cuadras drew first blood in the final minute of Round 3, when a left hook sent Estrada tumbling into the ropes for a knockdown, which made it clear that the favored fighter had his work cut out.

And that’s how he reacted. He came out for Round 4 as if he was angry. The counter puncher turned into an aggressive warrior, taking the fight to Cuadras in an obvious effort to compensate for what had happened the previous round.

Cuadras’ mouth was hanging open before the fight was half over, a sign that he was beginning to tire. However, inspired by the moment, he persevered and continued to give almost as much as he took.

Estrada, who landed the more precise, harder punches, seemed to have a clear advantage on the cards going into the final few rounds but Cuadras had a few strong stanzas down the stretch. That gave him hope going into Round 11.

However, the punishing shots Cuadras absorbed – including many to the body – finally took their toll. Estrada put him down with a right that clipped the top of his head about 15 seconds into the round. He then landed another right that put Cuadras on his behind.

The referee allowed the fight to continue even though Cuadras was hurt and exhausted but a flurry of punches convinced the official that enough was enough and he stopped the fight, which preserved Estrada’s junior bantamweight title.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:22.

With the victory, Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) bolstered the perception that he’s the best fighter in the lowest weight classes. More important to him perhaps, he is now expected to get another shot at Gonzalez early next year.

The two met for the first time in 2012, when Estrada was only 22. Gonzalez won a clear unanimous decision but the loser made a statement. It was obvious to anyone who saw that fight that Estrada had something special.

Of course, things are different today. Estrada might be at his peak at 30 years old. Gonzalez, 33, was thought to be finished when he lost back-to-back fights to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2017 but rebounded to reclaim a title and his place among the elite 115-pounders.

Estrada would have it no other way. He has coveted a rematch with his rival for eight years. He wants to fight – and beat – the best version of Gonzalez possible.

Well, he’ll finally get his chance. After what we saw on Friday, the only sure winners will be the fans.

[lawrence-related id=14958,14955]

Roman Gonzalez did his part.

“Chocolatito,” looking a lot like a prime version of himself, overwhelmed Israel Gonzalez with relentless pressure to win a unanimous decision to retain his 115-pound title Friday night at the Azteca TV studios in Mexico City.

The victory sets up a highly anticipated potential rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada, who fought Carlos Cuadras immediately afterward in the same ring.

Israel Gonzalez, the taller, quicker, younger (23) fighter, got off to a reasonably strong start, using lateral movement and long punches as his 33-year-old opponent pursued him. And he had moments off and on throughout the fight.

However, the theme of this one centered on the winner’s intelligent pressure. He was able to cut off the ring by the third round and fire hard, accurate punches nonstop until the final bell rang. Israel Gonzalez (25-4, 11 KOs) rarely had room to fire back with any consistency, which made his mission impossible.

To his credit, the loser never quit and proved to be durable but that didn’t do him much good in the end. “Chocolatito” won by scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 117-111. Boxing Junkie scored it 118-110 for the winner.

If Roman Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs) has declined, he didn’t show it on Friday.

[lawrence-related id=14955]

Roman Gonzalez did his part.

“Chocolatito,” looking a lot like a prime version of himself, overwhelmed Israel Gonzalez with relentless pressure to win a unanimous decision to retain his 115-pound title Friday night at the Azteca TV studios in Mexico City.

The victory sets up a highly anticipated potential rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada, who fought Carlos Cuadras immediately afterward in the same ring.

Israel Gonzalez, the taller, quicker, younger (23) fighter, got off to a reasonably strong start, using lateral movement and long punches as his 33-year-old opponent pursued him. And he had moments off and on throughout the fight.

However, the theme of this one centered on the winner’s intelligent pressure. He was able to cut off the ring by the third round and fire hard, accurate punches nonstop until the final bell rang. Israel Gonzalez (25-4, 11 KOs) rarely had room to fire back with any consistency, which made his mission impossible.

To his credit, the loser never quit and proved to be durable but that didn’t do him much good in the end. “Chocolatito” won by scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 117-111. Boxing Junkie scored it 118-110 for the winner.

If Roman Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs) has declined, he didn’t show it on Friday.

[lawrence-related id=14955]

Extra pounds don’t help much when you’re fighting one of the best little boxers in the world.

Flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez needed less than two rounds to stop an overweight and overmatched Moises Calleros on the Juan Fransisco Estrada-Carlos Cuadras card Friday night in Mexico City.

The official time of the knockout was 2:42 of Round 2.

Calleros, a late replacement as Martinez’s opponent, weighed in at 117.4 pounds – a whopping 5.4 over the limit – but it did him no good in the fight, as the gifted Martinez (17-1, 13 KOs) pounded him from the opening bell.

Martinez landed a perfect left hook-straight right combination that hurt Calleros (33-10-1, 17 KOs) and forced him to touch his glove to the canvas about a minute into the first round.

The champion, explosive as any fighter pound for pound, followed with a number of hard, accurate shots but Calleros survived the round.

Martinez, aggressive but measured, continued to land big shots until he finally hurt Calleros again with about 30 seconds left in Round 2. He followed that with a brutal flurry that prompted referee Cesar Castanon to jump in and stop the fight.

The performance was as spectacular as any in the 25-year-old Mexican’s career and might’ve put the other stars fighting Friday – Estrada, Carlos Cuadras and Roman Gonzalez – on notice.

Martinez said he wants to remain at 112 pounds to unify the titles, targeting fellow beltholders Artem Dalakian and Moruti Mthalane. He then plans to move up in weight and pursue those big-name fighters at 115.

He has proved over and over again that he’d be a threat to anyone.

In other preliminary bouts, 6-foot-4 super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco (10-0, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles knocked out Juan Antonio Mendez (12-3-2, 10 KOs) of Mexico at 2:02 of the second round of a scheduled six-round bout.

Austin Williams (6-0, 5 KOs), a middleweight prospect from Houston, stopped veteran Esau Herrera (19-12-1, 8 KOs) at 1:36 of Round 5 in a scheduled six-round bout.

And junior lightweight prospect Otha Jones III (5-0-1, 2 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio, drew with Mexican Kevin Montiel Mendoza (6-0-2, 3 KOs) of Mexico in a six-round bout.

The scores were 58-56 for Jones, 58-56 for Mendoza and 57-57.

Extra pounds don’t help much when you’re fighting one of the best little boxers in the world.

Flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez needed less than two rounds to stop an overweight and overmatched Moises Calleros on the Juan Fransisco Estrada-Carlos Cuadras card Friday night in Mexico City.

The official time of the knockout was 2:42 of Round 2.

Calleros, a late replacement as Martinez’s opponent, weighed in at 117.4 pounds – a whopping 5.4 over the limit – but it did him no good in the fight, as the gifted Martinez (17-1, 13 KOs) pounded him from the opening bell.

Martinez landed a perfect left hook-straight right combination that hurt Calleros (33-10-1, 17 KOs) and forced him to touch his glove to the canvas about a minute into the first round.

The champion, explosive as any fighter pound for pound, followed with a number of hard, accurate shots but Calleros survived the round.

Martinez, aggressive but measured, continued to land big shots until he finally hurt Calleros again with about 30 seconds left in Round 2. He followed that with a brutal flurry that prompted referee Cesar Castanon to jump in and stop the fight.

The performance was as spectacular as any in the 25-year-old Mexican’s career and might’ve put the other stars fighting Friday – Estrada, Carlos Cuadras and Roman Gonzalez – on notice.

Martinez said he wants to remain at 112 pounds to unify the titles, targeting fellow beltholders Artem Dalakian and Moruti Mthalane. He then plans to move up in weight and pursue those big-name fighters at 115.

He has proved over and over again that he’d be a threat to anyone.

In other preliminary bouts, 6-foot-4 super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco (10-0, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles knocked out Juan Antonio Mendez (12-3-2, 10 KOs) of Mexico at 2:02 of the second round of a scheduled six-round bout.

Austin Williams (6-0, 5 KOs), a middleweight prospect from Houston, stopped veteran Esau Herrera (19-12-1, 8 KOs) at 1:36 of Round 5 in a scheduled six-round bout.

And junior lightweight prospect Otha Jones III (5-0-1, 2 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio, drew with Mexican Kevin Montiel Mendoza (6-0-2, 3 KOs) of Mexico in a six-round bout.

The scores were 58-56 for Jones, 58-56 for Mendoza and 57-57.

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.”

[lawrence-related id=14890,14832,14872]

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.”

[lawrence-related id=14890,14832,14872]