Looks Like We’ll get Estrada-Chocolatito Rematch Early 2021

Off of their Saturday nights successful title defense wins in Mexico City, WBC Super Flyweight Champion Juan Francisco Estrada and WBA title holder Ramon “Chocolatito” Gonzalez are now primed for a rematch that could be a highly entertaining unification title fight early next year.

That’s what both fighters and promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing want now that they both proved themselves, post Covid-19 pandemic resumption of the sport.

First, battling in front of only a few fight officials, cornermen, etc. in the Mexico City TV Azteca studios Chocolatito (now 50-2, 44 KOs) used his experience, aggressive style and hard punching to wear down and pull away for an easy decision over Israel Gonzalez over 12 rounds. That fight was the co-feature  that saw Chocolatito Gonzalez win by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112 to successfully defend the title for the first time that he won in February of this year.

Estrada, meanwhile, did not have the same reasonably easy night. This, as he had to get off the deck in the third round to retain against Carlos Cuadras by scoring an 11th round TKO. In a bout that will be a candidate for “Fight of the Year” Cuadrus had Estrada down early and in trouble a couple of other times before Estrada’s volume of punching finally wore down the challenger.

With the champ coming on strong in the final rounds, Estrada (now, 41-3, 28 KOs) scored the stoppage by flooring Cuadras in the opening seconds of the 11th, and then again about a minute and a half into the round with a big right hand. The referee wisely waved the fight off in the second to last round of the fight.

Chocolatito and Estrada fought previously, eight years ago with Gonzalez coming out on top in a unanimous decision.

For his part Hearn took to social media Saturday night to urge that the proposed 115-pound Unification title bout take place soon in 2021.

? @DAZN_USA 2021 here we come! https://t.co/Rpc9EQsPfK

— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) October 24, 2020

He further told ESPN’s Steve Kim that he would like for the fight to be outside, potentially at Southern California’s Dignity Health Sports Complex with some fans socially distanced present.