By: Sean Crose
It is widely agreed that, at 37, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is past his prime when he steps into the ring in his native Nicaragua on Friday night. The four-division champion is looking for more glory, this time at bantamweight, as he hopes to earn himself a shot at an incredible fifth world title. First, however, Gonzalez, who is 51-4, will have to overcome Rober Barrera, who is 27-5, in a scheduled 10-round bout at Managua’s Polideportivo Alexis Arguello.
Gonzalez dominated his opponent immediately in the first round, but Barrera immediately realized that he had come to fight, as he took out his opponent with both hands and took him down. However, Barrera did not seem to be as strong as Gonzalez. By the second round, it looked like the fight would not go down, as Gonzalez, in his classic style, came forward, taking his opponent down and knocking him down hard. Indeed, he began to land punches on Barrera as the round continued.
Gonzalez landed hard in the opening minute of the third round. His relentless attack proved too much for the fearless Barrera, who continued to go all-out, pounding away at his legendary foe. As the round wore on, the question became whether Gonzalez’s stopping power could carry over to the bantamweight division, as he was making his debut there from the super flyweight division.
Things slowed down a bit in the fourth, though Gonzalez continued to stalk his man. The action had to be stopped early in the fifth so Gonzalez could get more tape on his gloves. Barrera got aggressive after that, and Gonzalez responded in kind. Barrera went down because he slipped, but the fact that it was a slip didn’t detract from the fact that Gonzalez was hitting him.
Indeed, Gonzalez turned up the heat in the sixth round. Barrera threw, but to no avail. To his credit, though, Barrera continued to fight—despite being repeatedly shot in the head. Sure, it looked like Gonzalez might have been on the verge of stopping Barrera in the seventh round. Yet, once again, Barrera was able to survive the round. He may have lost lopsidedly, but no one can dispute the man’s tenacity and courage.
In the eighth round, Barrera finally went down. He had won the count and survived the round, but it was worth wondering why the fight was allowed to continue. A flurry of punches knocked Barrera down a second time in the first minute of the ninth round. He got up again, but it was time to stop the fight. And indeed, the referee stopped the fight before the bell rang in the tenth round.
While it’s too early to tell how Gonzalez will perform in the bantamweight division, it’s clear the iconic fighter still has the potential to impress.
