The Boxing Glove Big Fight Review: Srisaket Sor Rungvisai Defeats Roman Gonzalez: A Bitter-Sweet Night At The Stub Hub

Photo: Yahoo Sports

 

By Peter Silkov

Sometimes boxing promises big things, but fails to deliver. Last night’s 115 pound triple header at the Stub Hub Centre, California, promised much with its three main contests featuring five of the best 115-pounders in the world getting it on. In the end, it did not disappoint. Fighting in front of a raucous and excited crowd, the bill was a testament to how boxing's lighter warriors often provide the sports heaviest action. Yet it was a bitter sweet affair, as the shocking defeat of former pound-for-pound number one, Roman Gonzalez, indicated that the man who has done so much to generate interest in the sport's lightest divisions over the past 10 years, may not be able to reap the benefits of the public's new found awareness.

Last night was supposed to be the scene of Roman’s revenge over Rungvisai, after a bloody and controversial defeat six months ago, which had cost him his WBC world super-flyweight title. It had also shorn Roman of his unbeaten record, which included 80 amateur fights unbeaten, and his status as the pound-for-pound number one in the world. In an era where world titles are seemingly won at a drop of a hat, and weight divisions jumped after a few extra milkshakes, Roman Gonzalez was a throwback to the times when a champion stayed at his division and asserted his dominance before moving up. Don’t confuse Roman Gonzalez’s multiple world titles with Adrien Broner's tiny haul. There was nothing contrived about Gonzalez’s world title victories at four weights over the course of nine years. This was not a big man boiling down to a weight that he should never be fighting at either. Gonzalez has always been a genuine small fighter. This is not a featherweight posing as a flyweight.

First meeting with Rungvisai

Unfortunately, last night the indications were that ,Gonzalez’s pugilistic honesty had come face-to-face with the harsh reality of boxing, and left him flat on his back, a beaten man. As had been feared since he first moved up and out-pointed Carlos Cuadras last September, to capture the WBC world super-flyweight title, and become one of the few fighters to win world titles at 4 different weights, it was a weight too far for ‘Chocolatito.’ Despite the victory over Cuadras, ‘Chocolatito’ had been given one of the hardest fights of his career, and shipped an unusual amount of punishment, which left him battered and bloody at the end, while Cuadras was relatively unmarked. The clues then were that giving away such a significant amount of natural weight, to the likes of Caudras, was going to be a major difficulty for Gonzalez.

Any thoughts that Gonzalez (46-2, 38koes) would find things easier as he settled into the higher weight were dispelled six months ago when he was dethroned by Rungvisai (44-4-1, 40koes). Although the decision itself seemed to be unjust, and the new champion had been guilty of some flagrant use of the head, the fact remained that once again ‘Chocolatito’ did not look himself. He once more lacked his usual speed and sharpness, and took far more punishment than was usually the case for him.

Last night was supposed to be the night that ‘Chocolatito’ returned to his best, and prove that he was still boxing’s pound-for-pound, number one.

Alas boxing is indeed a cruel endeavour, and perversely it often seems to be its cruellest to those who have graced it the best. The rematch between Gonzalez and Rungvisai was not so much a rematch, as it was a demolition. ‘Chocolatito’ never seemed to be himself, from the pre-fight screening of his being gloved up in his dressing room, to the fight itself, this fighter, who usually entered the ring with the relaxed air that only the greats can carry, seemed tense and troubled.

As he was (before their first fight six months ago), Gonzalez looked highly emotional during the ring introductions, and it was disturbing to see him in such a state just as he was about to go into action. It is well known that Gonzalez has been deeply affected by the sudden death of his trainer, Arnulfo Obando, last November. One can only wonder how much that loss has contributed to ‘Chocolatito’s’ sudden decline.

Photo: AP

When the action began, it was clear from the beginning that this was not the ‘Chocolatito’ whom we have come to admire so much for the best part of the last decade. He seemed hesitant, uncomfortable, and agonisingly slow of both hand and foot, while the defending champion quickly took the initiative, and with it, the first round. There was again a clash of heads between the two, as in the first fight, and although no damage was done, it only added to Gonzalez’s visible discomfort. Things were much the same in the second round, as Gonzalez barrelled forwards, and attempted to take the play away from Rungvisai, but it was the defending champion who was connecting with the more punches as Gonzalez looked to be having trouble getting his punches off, and when he did land his blows lacked their usual spark of power.

The third was a better round for Gonzalez as he showed some brief glimpses of his former form, turning up the pace, and going toe-to- toe with Rungvisai. Yet ‘Chocolatito’ seemed to be forcing himself into the fire, and while his punches seemed to just be bouncing off Rungvisai, and the champion's own blows looked much heavier. The punches seemed to be having a much more telling affect, as they visibly moved Gonzalez when they landed.

It was revealed in the 4^th round how effective Rungvisai’s punches were, and it was revealed in the 4^th round, when after the two continued as they had left off in the 3^rd, a right hook to the chin dropped ‘Chocolatito’ heavily. Although he bravely beat the count, the writing was on the wall. Rungvisai showed no mercy as he landed another vicious hook, to drop ‘Chocolatito’ once more, this time flat on his back, where he made no attempt to beat the count.

The sudden destruction of Gonzalez was met with a shocked silence from the pro-Gonzalez crowd. It was painful to see Gonzalez beaten in such a manner. He went out on his shield, just as all great champions tend to do, yet, it is always disturbing to see a great fighter suddenly become mortal, seemingly overnight.

Photo: Orange County Register

While Rungvisai seems on the verge of some exciting and hopefully lucrative showdowns, the plain truth is that they will not carry the same attraction now that they would have had Gonzalez regained his throne. Gonzalez now needs to take a long look at where he goes from here, and whether or not he should carry on fighting. The indications are that the rise in weight, coupled by the loss of his trainer and mentor, plus the rigours of a decade at the top, have all taken a toll upon ‘Chocolatito.’ How much of this decline is reversible only time will tell. At the age of 30, Gonzalez may be able to recoup after a long rest and regain some of his old brilliance, and a move back down to his more natural weight of flyweight could help him achieve this.

However after he has done so much already during his career, does Gonzalez still have the fire and right mental attitude to retrace his steps at 112 pounds, and rebuild his career almost from scratch. More importantly, does his body still have the reserves to allow him to achieve such a return. If he never fights again, Gonzalez can be proud of his achievements inside of the ring. His mixture of technical brilliance and his all-action fighting style brought attention to weight divisions that are usually disregarded by the general boxing public. Perhaps, just as importantly as his achievements inside the ring, Gonzalez has always carried himself with grace and honour outside the ring. Much the same way as his mentor, and idol, Alexis Arguello did during his illustrious boxing career. ‘Chocolatito’ will not be defined by his two defeats to Rungvisai, but rather everything that went before, when he proved himself over the course of a decade to be one of boxing’s all time greats.

The undercard of Rungvisai vs Gonzalez 2, featured two outstanding performances by Juan Francisco Estrada and Naoya ‘The Monster’ Inoue, who both won their respective contests, and announced themselves to the wider boxing public at the same time.

Juan Francisco Estrada (36-2, 25koes) has been one of boxing's best kept secrets since 2012, when he went the distance with a then peak, Roman Gonzalez, for Gonzalez’s World light-flyweight title, losing a close decision after giving ‘Chocolatito’ the toughest fight of his career up to that point. Estrada then moved up to flyweight, and reigned impressively as WBA and WBO world flyweight champion, for over two years almost unnoticed. Now however, after this triple 115-pounder bill, Estrada’s time might be coming, and at the age of 27, he looks to be at his peak and ready to take full advantage of this new exposure.

Estrada out-pointed another ex-foe of Gonzalez, Carlos Caudras (36-2-1, 27koes) in what was undoubtedly the fight of the night. Both men were so well matched that the action ebbed and flowed throughout the 12 rounds. Yet, the ultimate difference was that Estrada was the more accurate and solid puncher, even if at times he seemed to be outworked by the faster hands of the shifty Cuadras.

Photo: Mickey Bonilla

If there was any doubt about the winner, Estrada underlined his general edge over Cuadras with a knockdown in the 10^th round. It was to prove the decisive moment of the contest, as Estrada emerged the points winner by scores of 113-114, three times. Estrada was only awarded the fight after Cuadras was originally announced as the winner, amid some rather chaotic, and surreal scenes. Cuadras, to his credit, took the loss of what at first seemed to be a victory with good grace and this match was close enough to merit a rematch between the two in the future. Cuadras showed that he still has much to offer the 115 division himself.

Estrada is now the mandatory challenger for Rungvisai, and would enter that contest with a clear edge. Although he has moved up in weight himself, Estrada has the frame to carry the extra weight and unlike Gonzalez, he seems to have taken his punch up with him. His mixture of power and technical boxing ability should prove to be too much for the powerful, but less skilled, Rungvisai, when they meet, but it should be another exciting, all action contest and Rungvisai is unlikely to give up his title easily.

While Estrada was cementing a shot at the WBC title Naoya Inoue (14-0, 12koes) impressed with his first appearance in America, as he gave a ‘Monstrous’ display in retaining his WBO world super-flyweight title, with a 6^th round stoppage of Antonio Nieves (17-2-2, 9koes).

At only 24 years of age, and despite having just 14 professional contests, Inoue has already nine world title fights to his credit, and is a two weight world champion. Against Nieves, Inoue lived up to his nickname of ‘Monster’ as he dominated the brave yet outgunned challenger, with an impressive display of both power and technique. Inoue is very heavy handed, and strong at the weight, but he is also very technically adept as well. Nieves tried to fight back in the early rounds, but by the 4^th he was just trying to survive. When his corner pulled him out after the 6^th round it was a wise decision.

Inoue is already a big star in Japan, and the signs are that he could become much bigger yet worldwide. With future showdowns with Rungvisai, Estrada or perhaps Cuadras, a possibility for the future, the profile of one of boxing’s lightest divisions could yet continue to rise in popularity.

All in all, it was a great night for the boxing connoisseur, despite the sadness of Gonzalez’s defeat, and showed that for all its flaws, the sport still has some rich veins of gold to mine, if one knows where to look.

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Big Fight Report: Roman Gonzalez Dethroned In The Big Apple by Hard-Headed Srisaket Sor Rungvisai

By Peter Silkov

It's been a traumatic last few months for little warrior, Roman Gonzalez (46-1, 38koes.) After winning his 4^th world title last September, Gonzalez was deeply shaken by the death of his trainer, Arnulfo Obando, last November. Obando had been Gonzalez’s main trainer and mentor since 2010, and had guided him to 3 of his 4 world titles. His loss to Gonzalez was only too evident last night as ‘Chocolatito’s first defence of his WBC world super-flyweight title descended into a bloody nightmare for the pound-for-pound, number one, boxer in the world.

When Gonzalez won this title from Carlos Cuadras six months ago, there were indications that this might be a weight jump too far for Gonzalez. Unlike many modern fighters, Gonzalez does not lose a significant amount of weight for his fights, and in this, his 4^th weight division, he is facing opponents who are naturally bigger than him on fight night. Although he prevailed against Cuadras in September, after a fight of the year epic battle, there remained doubts about whether he was destined to be as strong a force at super-flyweight, as he was in his previous divisions.

The man chosen to provide the answer last night, at a packed Madison Square Garden, was Thai tough man, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, (42-4-1, 38koes.) Rungvisai, a former holder of Gonzalez’s title, came with the reputation as a hard-punching tough nut, and he was to live up to this reputation in more ways than one.

The portents of what was to come were not good, as Gonzalez looked perturbed and tense, and close to tears in the moments before the contest started, constantly looking up towards the heavens, as he seemed to thinking about his late trainer, Arnulfo Obando. It was something that he was to do throughout this fight, leading one to wonder whether he was really in the right state of mind to defend his title at all.

The match started at a quick pace with both men exchanging shots and the challenger showed from the start that he was looking to stand his ground and not allow Gonzalez to push him back. In the last minute of the round the fight produced its first shock, as a body punch dumped ’Chocolatito’ onto the canvas by the ropes. The champion seemed to be more surprised than hurt, but already Rungvisai had lived up to his heavy punching reputation.

In the second round the action speeded up, as a stung Gonzalez went to work, barrelling forwards, and throwing punching with both hands. Rungvisai stayed with the champion though and would not allow himself to be put onto the back foot. Already the fight was developing into a grueling toe-to-toe battle, with neither man willing to give away an inch. Gonzalez had the faster hands, but Rungvisai the heavier punch.

The third round saw a development that was to have a significant impact upon the rest of the fight, as a clash of heads left Gonzalez with a severe cut by the side of his right eye. The cut would became worse during the course of the fight, leaving ’Chocolatito’ battling with a mask of blood covering his face. Although it was ruled by the referee, Steve Willis, that the cut was caused by an accidental butt, developments over the rest of the fight would lead an observer to conclude that it was no accident at all.

Fueled by the cut, Gonzalez intensified his attacks in the 4^th round, unleashing fierce two-fisted barrages, which started to drive the challenger back for the first time. However, just when he seemed to be on the verge of taking control of the fight, Gonzalez building rhythm was disrupted by another head butt. As would be the case in future rounds, the head butts always seemed to occur when Gonzalez was in the ascendancy.

In the 6^th round, Gonzalez seemed to be taking control of the fight through sheer will power, as he forced himself forwards and out-punched his challenger, despite a now permanent flow of blood splashing down the right side of his face. Once again his attacks were disrupted by butts. This time there were two and after the second one, not far from the end of the round, Rungvisai was finally deprived of a point by referee, Willis, yet the damage has already been done. By now, not only had the cut by Gonzalez’s eye been worsened, but he also now had a cut in his hairline.

The butts in the 6^th round certainly seemed to take some of the steam from Gonzalez’s attacks. Though he still came forwards for the remainder of the fight, Rungvisai was never in the same kind of trouble that he had seemed to be in parts of the 4^th and 6^th rounds. The size disparity was also clear as Gonzalez’s shots, so potent in the lower divisions during his career, simply bounced off Rungvisai. Yet, Gonzalez was winning rounds with the intensity of his work-rate, which was, at times, breathtaking. He also showed far better accuracy than his challenger, while also at the same time, slipping, and blocking many of the punches which were coming his way.

Despite the challenger's round tactics, and the sheer viciousness of their combat at times, this fight was fought with an admirable amount of respect on both sides, with both men touching gloves after each round. This is the way of real warriors.

Rungvisai cleaned up his act noticeably after the point deduction in the 6^th round, but in the 12^th and final round, he pulled out all his tricks as a seemingly fresher Gonzalez sought to close the show with a good finish. The challenger held, wrestled, and ran away from Gonzalez, and at several points tried blatantly to butt Gonzalez again, then even attempted to lift the champion off the floor at one point. While Gonzalez won the round, Rungvisai was lucky not to lose another point for his last round antics.

The judge's verdict, when it came, was not well received by the audience. The scores were 114-112 twice and 113-113.

This was a hard fought thriller, which should be an instant candidate for fight of the year. Fights like this are always subject to perception, and certainly there were rounds that could have gone either way. Despite everything that went against him in this match, Gonzalez still seemed to have done enough to retain his title. The Boxing Glove made Gonzalez the winner by a score of 114-112.

While he had to whether a significant amount of punishment himself, Gonzalez often outworked his rugged challenger, and more importantly blocked and slipped many of the challenger's own punches. It is possible that the judges were influenced by Gonzalez’s bloodied features into thinking that Rungvisai was doing more damage than he was in reality. The fact remains that the only wounds inflicted on Gonzalez by Rungvisai were caused by butts.

It is hard not to feel respect for Rungvisai, who showed commendable heart and will to win in this contest, but it has to be said that his tactics at times crossed the line from the rough to the dirty. His frequent head butts undoubtedly made Gonzalez’s task all the more difficult, and the single-point deduction, which he drew from them was simply not enough of a penalty. Referee Steve Willis deserves criticism for letting Rungvisai get away with far too much in what was otherwise a thrilling fight, that was aside from the fouls, fought in a great sporting spirit.

Despite the controversial nature the verdict, this defeat for Gonzalez will have been costly. He has not only lost his world title, but also his unbeaten record and status as pound-for-pound number one in the world. After his struggle against Carlos Cuadras in his previous fight at this weight, the indications are that Gonzalez is not the dominant figure at super-bantamweight that he was in the previous three divisions that he occupied. Should he decide to stay at this weight and seek a rematch against Rungvisai, or Cuadras, or perhaps former foe Juan Francisco Estrada, then he looks to have further grueling fights in his future. Even if Gonzalez had received the verdict last night, and retained his championship (as we at The Boxing Glove believe he deserved), the indications are still clear that Gonzalez is not the same fighter at super-flyweight that he was in the lower divisions. There remains the chance that he could move back down to flyweight, but at 29 and over a decade of fighting at the elite level, it is questionable whether he can still comfortably make 112 pounds.

The sad fact is that at 29, and after 8 years at the top, it looks as if Gonzalez’s time is on the wane. Gonzalez is still a wonderful fighter, who is likely to provide us with several more thrilling contests before his day is done. Yet, as with all great champions, he has reached the point of his career where the sheen of his peak has faded, seemingly overnight, and with it his aura of invincibility. The former number one fighter in the world is suddenly a mere mortal.

Full Fight:

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The 2015 Boxing Glove Awards: Sweet Science Award: Roman Gonzalez

The Boxing Glove Awards 2015
The Sweet Science Award
Flyweight
Roman Gonzalez

2015 was the year when the boxing world at large finally discovered Roman Gonzalez.  The diminutive Gonzalez is as close to being a complete fighter as there is in today’s boxing scene.  The Nicaraguan born fighter is a joy to watch, mixing speed, and technique, with dynamite in both fists.  Although still only 28 years of age, Gonzalez has already been a world champion since 2008, winning world titles at minimumweight, light flyweight, and flyweight.  With an unbeaten record of 44-0 (38koes), Gonzalez could be the fighter to bring long overdue attention to boxing’s little men, his biggest problem in recent years has been finding worthy opponents willing to face him in the ring.  

Watch Roman Gonzalez Vs. Brian Viloria October 17, 2015




Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com