Roman Gonzalez vs Israel Gonzalez

A fiftieth professional victory confirmed that the champion’s return to the top of the division had substance behind it. Román “Chocolatito” González retained his WBA super flyweight championship by unanimously outpointing Israel González over twelve rounds at the TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City on 23 October 2020. The challenger resisted throughout, but the champion’s sustained pressure and varied combinations established a clear advantage. It was the first defence of the championship González had taken from Kal Yafai eight months earlier.

The contest formed part of a Matchroom and Zanfer programme staged behind closed doors under coronavirus restrictions. González, 33, entered with 49 victories and two defeats, having won world championships in four divisions. His ninth round stoppage of Yafai in February had restored his championship standing after two losses to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2017. Israel, a 23-year-old Mexican with 25 wins and three defeats, was making his third attempt to win a world title after unsuccessful challenges against Jerwin Ancajas and Yafai. A victory over Sho Ishida in Japan had brought him back into contention. He also possessed substantial advantages in height and reach, which offered a means of keeping the shorter champion outside.

Israel used those advantages effectively at the outset. He moved, jabbed and changed his upper-body position as González pursued him, making the champion work to establish punching range. In the second, the challenger began committing more readily to his combinations and caught González coming forward with a left hook. The champion answered with a right hand late in the round. By the third, González was closing the distance more consistently. He crowded Israel, worked to the body and landed a straight right that drove him towards the ropes. The challenger continued to find openings for his jab, but he could not prevent González from returning to close quarters.

The middle rounds established the principal pattern of the fight. González advanced behind a succession of punches, moving between body and head rather than relying upon a single finishing blow. Israel replied with quick combinations and used his upper-body movement to avoid some of the incoming work, but increasingly had to defend beside the ropes. In the fourth, a straight right from the champion forced him backwards, although he answered with a sharp combination. During the fifth, Israel again released a flurry, much of which González slipped or caught on his gloves. The champion then resumed his attack. His pressure was effective because it repeatedly obliged Israel to defend before the challenger could regain space and launch another sustained offensive.

Israel continued to land individual counters, including a right uppercut early in the sixth, but González maintained the greater output. In the seventh, an overhand right reached the challenger, who spent part of the closing minute on the ropes under attack before answering. Israel was more active in the eighth and landed a straight right, yet the champion’s advance remained difficult to interrupt for long. The ninth brought further pressure and another succession of exchanges near the ropes. González’s attack did not go unanswered, but the challenger’s periods of success were separated by longer stretches in which he was occupied with keeping the champion off him.

The tenth gave Israel a useful recovery. He sustained his combinations more effectively and a straight right snapped González’s head backwards. For a time, the challenger’s faster bursts checked the champion’s punching. He attempted to carry that improvement into the eleventh with jabs and straight rights, but González again shortened the distance and forced him back. In the final round, Israel continued to exchange rather than settle for reaching the bell. González maintained his own attack, combining his offensive work with sufficient blocking and movement to limit the challenger’s attempts to reverse the contest. There were no knockdowns, and the championship was decided after the full twelve rounds.

The judges were unanimous. Fernando Barbosa scored the contest 118–110, Abraham Ibarra 116–112 and Humberto Olivares 117–111, all for González. The decision advanced the champion’s record to 50 wins and two defeats, with 41 victories inside the distance; Israel fell to 25 wins and four defeats. CompuBox figures reported by the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa credited González with throwing 1,241 punches and landing 337, a measure of the workload he had maintained against a younger opponent who remained competitive without matching his sustained effectiveness. Later on the same programme, Juan Francisco Estrada stopped Carlos Cuadras in the eleventh round to retain the WBC championship. Their respective victories left González and Estrada positioned for a championship rematch, eight years after González had won their first meeting.

I thought this was Chocolatito showing exactly why writing him off after the Sor Rungvisai defeats had been premature. Beating Kal Yafai restored his championship standing; this defence showed he could still sustain pressure against a younger, taller opponent.

Israel had quick hands and enough movement to make the opening awkward. But once Román closed the distance, he kept switching between body and head, forcing Israel to defend before he could organise his next attack. What I rate is the defensive work within that pressure. He slipped or blocked punches and went straight back to work. That combination of attack and defence explains his appeal far better than any knockout tally.

Israel deserves credit for answering back and finding good right hands, particularly late on. He wasn’t poor; he simply couldn’t keep the champion outside for long enough. I had no argument with the unanimous decision. Román controlled the sustained exchanges, and his fiftieth victory kept the Estrada rematch firmly in view.