Donaire and Chocolatito Gonzalez: Leaving Legends on Collision Course?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 11 Mar 2022
Nonito Donaire and Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez, two sure-fire Hall of Fame and possible all time great champion fighters are eyeing the best and biggest paying fights on the last leg of their legendary boxing careers and both experts and fans are hoping they get to fight each other in what could be their fitting last hurrah.
Both has resurrected each others profile and record with recent dominating wins. Nonito by winning the WBC bantamweight crown in fact for the second time and defended it by crushing knockout victories over Nordine Oubaali and erstwhile undefeated fellow Filipino Reymart Gaballo. And Gonzalez by winning the vacant WBC super flyweight title by one sided points win over another former undefeated opponent, Julio Cesar Martinez just this weekend.
In the recent The DAZN Boxing Show, former world boxing champion Sergio Mora and co-host Chris Mannix contended that Chocolatito Gonzalez who has won four world division and once reigned as pound for pound top fighter, deserves a fitting finale versus either Donaire or Japanese Monster Naoya Inoue next.
At 34, Gonzalez has a limited amount of time before he will have to draw his career to a close, and has indicated that he wants to maximize his earnings with his remaining ring appearances.
Mora said a fight pitting Inoue who is undisputed Japan's number one fighter and Gonzalez who is the finest foreign fighter ever to once be adopted by Japan would be very big in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Fact is, the Ring Magazine has touted the Gonzalez-Inoue as one of the biggest fights that got away when Inoue was still at 115 lbs which could be consigned more and more to mythical fight status if it could not be realized while they are still active and could be pitted against each other.
Mannix countered that a Chocolatito vs Donaire fight would even be bigger in the United States as it will pit two legendary fighters in the lower weights out to establish a new boxing record, Gonzalez his fifth going up from the minimumweight and Nonito also his fifth world division title after moving down from winning championships in the higher super bantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Inoue and Donaire, however, are reportedly in negotiations for a rematch with the Japanese WBA super title which he won in 2019 from the Filipino and his own IBF as well as Donaire's WBC crowns on the line possibly by middle of the year depending on the pandemic situation in Japan.
There are nonetheless a few scenarios by which a Chocolatito vs Nonito or Inoue clash could still happen.
The easiest route would be if the Donaire-Inoue rematch in Japan falls through for any reason making Nonito available and hopefully with his current promoter Probellum amenable to subsequent offer from DAZN for a Gonzalez super fight in the US ideally at catchweight with their respective titles on the line.
A Gonzalez challenge of Inoue in Japan under the circumstance would also be improbable though a fight between them in the US is possible if and that's a big if, Naoya's promoter Bob Arum could strike a deal with and agree to work under Eddie Hearn's DAZN.
On the other hand, in the event the Inoue-Donaire pushes through possibly at the earliest this May or June, Chocolatito may have to fight once again, preferably a tune up at bantamweight while waiting for the winner. Possible foe could include former titlists Zolani Tete, Nordine Oubaali and Emmanuel Rodriguez or Australian two time title challenger Jason Moloney.
If Gonzalez decides to stay at super flyweight as WBC titlist, he could opt for a title defense against any of his top challengers.
A fight versus Donaire could still happen if Nonito again loses to Naoya and decides to pursue his plan to go down to 115 lbs and challenges him for his belt for the Filipino legend's target fifth world division championship.
Though that would not be as prestigious as in the first ideal scenario where both are champions staking their respective titles, still getting the scalp of a fighter as Donaire would be a great feat for Gonzalez as his own career draws to or nears ending.
Subsequent developments in this exciting prospective fight is worth following as it definitely will be one of the highlights of the current year.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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