Is Roman Gonzalez the mini Gennady Golovkin?

Jhonny Gonzalez

ROMAN GONZALEZ is yet another fighter to get excited about. The Nicaraguan has stormed through 43 bouts, winning them all and winning 37 inside the distance, largely outside of public eye. A titlist at even lighter weights and now the holder of the WBC flyweight crown, Gonzalez got his chance to appear on HBO in America on the undercard of Gennady Golovin-Willie Monroe Jnr. He seized the opportunity, destroying Mexico’s Edgar Sosa in less than two rounds. Sosa is a good fighter who’s beaten Giovani Segura and Brian Viloria. But he could not handle Gonzalez.

The Nicaraguan went straight on the front foot, his jab harrying Sosa. A lightning left-right to the chin saw the Mexican collapse to his knees in the second round. Gonzalez put him down a second time. Sosa must have known there was nothing he could do. But nevertheless wearily he rose to meet Roman head on. The WBC champion drove Sosa back, hammering shots from both fists into the Mexican. He couldn’t stop the onslaught and referee Raul Caiz Snr stopped it at 2-37.

“I’ve given everything in the gym to have a great performance like this,” Roman said. “It was a very important fight on HBO and I wanted to showcase my talent to have another big fight on HBO in the States.”

Gonzalez remains a fighter to watch, with appealing potential bouts ahead of him. He has spoken of rematching Juan Francisco Estrada who holds the WBO and WBA titles at the weight, while the IBF champion Amnat Ruenroeng, who defeated Zou Shiming in Macau, would also be a notable fight.

But a looming super-fight would pit Gonzalez against Naoya Inoue, the Japanese sensation who in only eight professional contests has already won world titles at light-fly and super-flyweight. The Nicaraguan likes the sound of that fight. “Whenever you want it, we’ll have it,” Roman declared.

GENNADY GOLOVKIN-WILLIE MONROE JNR AS IT HAPPENED

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ROMAN GONZALEZ HERE

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