ROMAN Gonzalez’s celebrated career entered another chapter last night as he stopped Rober Barrera in round 10 of his Nicaraguan homecoming. Headlining in the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello venue in Managua, the pocket rocket known as ‘Chocolatito’ steadily turned up the heat round after round until a final-session conclusion.
Colombian Barrera started at a fast past, which proved to be unsustainable as veteran Gonzalez touched the body and worked his man over. In round eight, a body barrage, finishing on a sneaky left hook, put Barrera on his knees and received the respite of a count. With only 20 seconds left, he survived the round.
Barrera was down again in the ninth and hanging on to his status by a thread as the referee buzzed around on the verge of a stoppage. That stoppage came in round 10 while Barrera was still on his feet but receiving more head and body shots by the second. The loser, whose record crumbled to 27-6 (17 KOs), did not complain.
As for Gonzalez, he is now 37 years old and weighed in at a solid 116 ¾ for the bout. The seemingly ageless multi-weight world champion had not tasted victory since a 12-round decision victory over Julio Cesar Martinez in early 2022. Gonzalez, 52-4 (42 KOs), returned home to a hero’s welcome, befitting a four-weight world champion and modern-day legend.
Rather than this being a chance to get back into the win column before hanging them up, Gonzalez is talking like a man on a mission to win belts at super-flyweight or bantamweight. Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez recently defeated Juan Francisco Estrada by stoppage and ‘Chocolatito’ would be open to taking on Rodriguez in the future.
