Roman Gonzalez – Unbeaten and chasing a million dollars
“A gift from god”. Those are the words that Fernando Sanchez, member of Nicaraguan promotion company Prodesa, chooses to define Roman Gonzalez. “He´s a gift from god because out of a hundred boxers, only one or five of them are born with that talent”, he said.
The documentary Sueños de Gloria (Dreams of Glory, Prodesa 2012) shows this and other testimonies involved in the life of Nicaragua´s Roman Alberto Gonzalez Luna, known as “Chocolatito”, which means “little chocolate” in Spanish. In that movie Gonzalez reminisces about his first boxing workouts as a kid. He states that his father used to hang a milk powder plastic bag from a tree and he would hit it with protective work gloves on. “I tried to teach him everything I learned in amateur boxing”, his father, Luis Alberto Gonzalez, remembers.
Many days of childhood hunger and poverty in the capital city, Managua, have certainly shaped Gonzalez´s character. “I remember I used to mix sugar and water and that´s what I would eat everyday sometimes”, he says in the above mentioned film.
It´s been a long time since the boxing lessons he took from his father and now money, fame and recognition are everyday factors mold his life. He continuously tells the media that he is humble and is always trying to keep it that way.
The unbeaten, three-time world champion is returning to the ring this Saturday Feb 28th in Puerto Salvador Allende to face Mexico´s Valentin “Picoco” Leon. Gonzalez retained his WBC Flyweight title last November in Japan against Rocky Fuentes with a sixth round TKO. And he will be making now his official debut in the Super flyweight division.
35-year-old Mexican Valentin “Picoco” Leon holds an irregular record of 38 victories and 28 defeats. Leon has lost 16 of that fights by KO. Thus it seems that Saturday night fight is far from showing us a good estimation of what Gonzalez could achieve in this division. While Leon has faced the biggest names on his weight class, he´s been defeated by everyone of them: Brain Viloria, Hernan Marquez, Ivan Calderon and Giovanni Segura, who knocked him out on the third round.
According to Nicaraguan site La Prensa, all of the fighters that were potential opponents for Gonzalez coming in to this bout, were asking for too much money. Boxingscene.com also informed on this matter reporting that Hernan Marquez wanted $100,000 to fight Gonzalez in his backyard.
Nicaragua´s most notable boxer in history and also three-time world champion, Alexis Arguello, functioned as a mentor and a trainer throughout Gonzalez’s life and career. It could appear sometimes that we´re seeing Arguello´s shadow when Gonzalez is in the ring throwing ferocious six-eight punches combinations to finishes his opponents.
On the undefeated Gonzalez´s impressive record (41 wins, 35 KO´s) there´s still a mark called Francisco Estrada. Their 2012 fight at 108 pounds bout was a very close-technical fight and many people has been asking for a rematch since then. Some people think that a second fight at 112 pounds, Estrada´s natural weight, would write a completely different story. Gonzalez has replied to the media in various occasions that he would be happy to have a rematch with Estrada only if he earns a million dollar payday.
27-seven-year-old Gonzales, an exciting and smart pressure fighter who is delightful to watch, has been very dominant at 105, 108 and 112 pounds since he won his first WBA Minimum Weight Title in 2008. Directed by trainer Arnulfo Obando, managed by Carlos Blandon, and co-promoted by Prodesa and Teiken, “Chocolatito” is now on the quest to gain a fourth world title in four different divisions.
Gonzalez´s was recently asked about his biggest fear. He responded to Nicaragua´s paper El Nuevo Diario, that he was afraid of being apart from god and letting craziness take over him. “I don´t want to have bad voices and get all crazy like many others have gone. I hope I never get that crazy and never be off the right track”, he replied.
But, still on the right track and before all of that fear in him, Gonzalez´s wants a million dollars.
– Ivánn Piña / @Ivann_ph
Leave a Reply