MODERN-DAY boxing legend Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez has a date for his first fight of 2025.
The four-weight world champion has been out of the ring since posting the 52nd win of his career last July. Two years on from his loss to Juan Francisco Estrada, the diminutive Gonzalez stopped Colombian Rober Barrera in the 10th and final round of their bout in Nicaragua.
On September 12, Gonzalez will return to the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello venue in Managua to face Hector “El Ratón” Robles. Little is known about the Mexican, other than his 13-8-3 (4 KOs) record and a fourth-round TKO loss to David Cuellar Contreras in November 2020. Contreras, in turn, lost his unbeaten record in February this year when Japanese sensation Junto Nakatani knocked him out in three rounds during the third defence of his WBC bantamweight title.
Gonzalez, now 38, still harbours hopes of fighting for another world title and has been linked to a potential showdown with WBC super-flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez. The 25-year-old Texan could become a two-weight unified champion on July 19 if he beats WBO belt holder Phumelela Cafu.
Since losing to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai for the second time in 2017, Gonzalez has fought eight times, winning six and losing two. His last world title triumph came in February 2020 when he outclassed Kal Yafai to win the WBA super-flyweight title via a ninth-round stoppage. Gonzalez later lost the title to old rival Estrada in their unification clash one year later. He went on to defeat Julio Cesar Martinez before dropping a third bout against Estrada in 2022.
Fellow fight veteran Nonito Donaire, 42, has expressed his desire to face Gonzalez. Speaking to Boxing Scene in April this year, his wife and trainer Rachel said: “We had put forward a couple of times to fight Chocolatito, and [Akihiko] Honda [of Teiken Boxing] had given his blessing a couple of times. But then, for some reason, his management decided that he wanted to go after Cafu, and look how that turned out.
“Both of them are of advancing age. Both of them are going to be in the Hall of Fame. I think that it’d be a legendary fight.”
However, in August last year Gonzalez had already shot down any chance of a fight happening.
