SPORTS SHORTS 79: JUAN FRANCISCO ESTRADA BEATS CHOCOLATITO GONZALEZ BY SPLIT DECISION AS BOTH FIGHTERS EYE A TRILOGY
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 14 Mar 2021
It was predicted to be a war, and it went exactly a war. Juan Francisco Estrada retained his WBC and The Ring super flyweight titles and annexed the WBA (Super) title to his belts with a grueling and controversial split-decision win over Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
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The dream rematch took more than eight years to make after Chocolatito defeated Estrada in November 17, 2012 at the Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California. Estrada successfully avenged his loss in an action-packed Fight-of-the-Year candidate.
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A record was established in the super flyweight division with a total of 2,529 punches were thrown in the fight. Estrada landed 314 of 1,212 (26 percent accuracy) while Chocolatito connected 391 of his 1,317 punches thrown (30 percent accuracy).
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But it was Estrada who came out the winner convincing two of the three judges. Jesse Reyes favored Gonzalez with a 115-113 win, but he was altered by Carlos Sucre scoring 117-111 and David Sutherland giving 115-113 both for Estrada.
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Carlos Sucre scoring the fight 117-111 with a wide margin for Estrada was widely criticized. It happens in boxing, even the best fights are subject to controversy once it’s all over and the verdict is announced.
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"I think I did enough to win," Estrada said. "Chocolatito is a great fighter and I think he deserves the trilogy."
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Gonzalez thinks he won the fight, but wasn’t angry at all in his defeat. He believes he has beaten Estrada twice, and he is acceptable to a third fight to settle the outcome once and for all.
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The fighters gave nonstop action from the opening round. Estrada distanced himself early as Chocolatito attacked him with powerful combinations. Then it was back-and-forth, give-and-take for both fighters as the fight progressed.
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Chocolatito showcased his skills that made him the world's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter after Floyd Mayweather was inactive. Estrada's offensive would be countered by Gonzalez with the same intensity and dispatch.
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When the smoke cleared, Estrada was announced the winner and has unified the titles. With the series now tied at 1-1, several fans are expecting a third fight to happen soon. And for sure that won't be for long as the eight-plus years for the second fight.
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Both Estrada (42-3, 28 KO) and Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KO) announced they want for a trilogy fight, but most probably the next fight for Estrada, who now holds the WBC and WBA titles at 115 pounds, is against WBC mandatory challenger and former champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, which will also be a trilogy bout.
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Rungvisai (50-5-1, 43 KOs) needed some light work in Thailand, stopping countryman Kwanthai Sithmorseng (50-8-1, 27 KOs) after three rounds of one-sided action.
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In the under card, Jessica McCaskill proved that her victory against Cecilia Braekhus in 2019 was no fluke. McCaskill won the rematch against the Norwegian fighter with a lopsided unanimous decision and retained the undisputed welterweight championship, with scores of 100-89, 99-90, 98-91.
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McCaskill, (10-2, 3 KOs), age 36 years of St. Louis, Missouri, United States started strong and hit the Cartagena, Colombia-born Braekhus (36-2, 9 KOs) in the early rounds. McCaskill's heavy attacks slowed down the 39-year-old Braekhus and had her wobbled at one time.
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Hiroto Kyoguchi picked up a fourth-round stoppage in an unfortunate ending for Axel Aragon Vega. Kyoguchi (15-0, 10 KOs) age 27 years of Izumi, Osaka, Japan was successful in the third defense of the belt he won via a 10th-round TKO over Hekkie Budler in 2018.
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Vega (14-4-1, 8 KOs), age 20 of Distrito Federal, Mexico was able to fight the defending WBA junior flyweight champion in the opening rounds of the match. But Vega's ability to fight was aborted after he suffered a hand injury in the fourth round.
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The injury All-Star center Joel Embiid suffered on his left knee against the Washington Wizards on Friday night was a bone bruise, and not more severe. Embiid fell to the court during the third quarter of the game against the Wizards, and an MRI showed no structural damage but will have him sidelined for weeks instead of months.
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Embiid is the MVP frontrunner before the injury, and the Sixers' championship quest depend largely on their prized center. Those title hopes would have vanished if Embiid was forced to miss the remaining part of the season. The Sixers were still very much in contention.
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The first Olympic champion listed in the ancient records was Coroebus of Elis, a cook, who won the sprint race in 776 BCE. At the games in 776 BCE there was only one event, a footrace that covered one length of the track at Olympia, but other events were added over the decades.
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The race, known as the stade, was about 192 metres (210 yards) in length. The word stade also came to refer to the track on which the race was held and is the origin of the modern English word stadium.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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