FIGHT OF FANTASY: ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ VS.
down. Usually, to beat a fighter like that, you either need near-perfect technical control or the kind of power that can hurt him early and break his rhythm. And I’m not convinced Rodriguez has the punching power required to keep Gonzalez in check. “Even though Rodriguez is explosive and has excellent footwork, I find it difficult to believe he could contain a peak Gonzalez for 12 rounds and win the majority of them. We also shouldn’t forget that the level of opposition Chocolatito
[Chocolatito’s] movement. I’ve never known a fighter to be so aggressive without ever loading up and effective with it. He rolls, slips, slides and dips, always throws punches continuously; he can throw effortlessly without ever holding his feet for long enough for you to fire back. His movement around that semicircle around your body, quality fighters win the fight there. He’d throw a punch, pivot to the side and come again. Bam does it in a different way and just as beautifully. The engine you’ve got to have to box like Chocolatito is different-level shit. The first time I saw him, I was just blown away. If he was a middleweight, he’d be a billionaire. “I’ve had a saying for the last four, five years in commentary: ‘What you do after the punch is almost as important as the punch itself’ – the patience [Bam] has for a young man. The difference with Bam is he has power and he punches through the target. It’s the movement and the angle of the punch that gets them. I was ringside for Bam-Estrada, and I know Estrada wasn’t at the peak of his powers, but he was still good. The way Bam was spinning around him on someone like that – he’s not doing it against ordinary fighters; he’s doing it against great fighters. It’s a joy to watch. He dominates that semicircle better than any fighter in world boxing today. “Size is a thing; it’s very hard to look past Bam, but I am going to. I think Chocolatito beats him on points because of the sheer volume, movement and smoothness of his work that doesn’t give Bam the opportunity to set him up, start pushing him back with the jab, to pivot, because Chocolatito is always advancing and closing you up and putting you in a corner. I think it’s close. I think Chocolatito wins by two or three points. His engine comes into play and is a big
factor. It would be one of the all-time great rivalries in sports. Bam could beat him on any given Sunday; he has the intelligence, power and movement. If he can start pushing him back, you’re done.” Prediction: Gonzalez PTS
faced was superior to what Bam Rodriguez has encountered so far. “I see the first round going to
CARLOS CUADRAS Former junior bantamweight titleholder who faced both Gonzalez and Rodriguez “At 112 pounds, I think Chocolatito was at his peak. He has very good defense, constant pressure. Without a doubt one of the best of his time. “Bam was also very good and very fast. He’s very intelligent in the ring. He also has some very good angles, and his southpaw stance is something that makes things difficult. I think he knows how to box very well, and he also knows how to brawl. “Chocolatito had better power, plus constant pressure, and throws a lot of punches. Bam is fast and accurate, and accuracy and speed equal power. I think that because of the constant pressure and Chocolatito’s overwhelming punching power, they could go toe-to-toe, but it depends a lot on each fighter’s strategy. “A fight between the two of them would have been an epic fight. It’s too close to call, but I think Bam’s boxing style would prevail because of his speed and good long-range boxing. From the beginning, Chocolatito would pressure him, but Bam wouldn’t give him an
Rodriguez, with his speed and movement setting the tone early. But as the fight goes on, I see Gonzalez getting closer, cutting the distance and imposing his style. Even so, I expect an extremely competitive fight, with both fighters having their moments. But in the end, I picture the referee raising Gonzalez’s hand by decision – maybe even a split decision.” Prediction: Gonzalez PTS
JESSE “BAM” RODRIGUEZ By Anson Wainwright
R oman Gonzalez was the standard-bearer for the lower weights in the 2010s, but his good friend Jesse Rodriguez has taken the baton and run with it in recent years. The two have sparred, but a sanctioned fight is unlikely at this point, as “Bam” is on the rise while “Chocolatito” is on the back end of his career – though one could never count out any version of the Nicaraguan maestro. What if they had been able to meet in their respective primes at flyweight? Gonzalez turned pro in 2005 after an amateur career in which he reportedly went 88-0. He won his first world title at strawweight, and by 2011 he was wearing a belt at junior flyweight as well. But the best was yet to come. With a record of 39-0 (33 KOs), Gonzalez took on Ring/WBC flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi in 2014 and capped a brilliant display of aggressive, technical boxing with a ninth-round TKO. Four defenses followed, during which he impressively stopped former titleholders Edgar Sosa and Brian Viloria and reached No. 1 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. He again showed how special he was by annexing a junior bantamweight title from Carlos Cuadras (UD 12) in 2016, and he turned back the clock after a pair of defeats by stopping Kal Yafai (TKO 9) for a second belt at 115 pounds in 2020. Rodriguez also launched his pro career at strawweight in 2017, but his first world title was the WBC strap he won by defeating Cuadras (UD 12) at junior bantamweight in 2022. He soon took the unusual route of dropping back to flyweight, where he quickly won the WBO title and added the IBF belt by stunning Sunny Edwards (RTD 9). Bam then moved back to 115 pounds and won the Ring Magazine and WBC belts by becoming the first person to stop Juan Francisco Estrada (KO 7). The gifted Texan has since captured the WBO and WBA titles (the latter with a highlight-reel knockout of Fernando Martinez) and is currently among the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. This imagined matchup features two elite-level boxers with sky-high ring IQs in what promises to be a tit-for-tat shootout where wits and stamina are key. But who would win?
MARC RAMSAY Trainer
BARRY JONES Commentator, former junior lightweight titleholder
“Right now, Jesse Rodriguez is probably one of the boxers I enjoy watching the most, and I don’t even think he’s reached his full potential yet. But at the same time, people seem to forget just how exceptional Roman Gonzalez was in his prime. “Roman Gonzalez is a very strong pressure fighter with a high punch volume, and he’s a master of close-range exchanges. That’s exactly what he would need to do to have a real chance of winning: Close the distance quickly, take away Rodriguez’s space and impose constant physical pressure backed by a high work rate. “Bam Rodriguez is a southpaw with excellent footwork – explosive, creative and highly imaginative in his attacks. That mix can give trouble to absolutely any fighter. Rodriguez should keep Gonzalez at long- or midrange for the entire fight, using a precise, authoritative jab and constantly relying on lateral movement. “It’s hard to predict how Rodriguez would react to constant pressure and the kind of punch volume Gonzalez used to unleash without ever slowing
“It would be one of the purest fights you could make. It has every ingredient that a boxing fan or fan of sports could want: skill, thought, power, finesse – it just ticks every box. Every round is going to be won by the smallest of margins. There’s jeopardy with Bam with the power he has. With the beautiful, smooth
technique of Chocolatito, he empties people’s tanks very, very quickly. It’s a fight where any given moment you could see a fighter falling off the edge. It’s such a perfectly poised fight. I find it very hard to think of a better fight you could make in the last 20 years, if their peaks aligned. “There’s a poetry to
easy target and would win by decision. There wouldn’t be a knockdown. It would be a majority decision for Bam.” Prediction: Rodriguez MD
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Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at
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