By: Sean Crose
“We had a great training camp and I would love to be in the ring for a trilogy with Román.” So said Juan Francisco Estrada on the eve of his third battle with the Roman legend “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. “I’m very happy and I feel this will be a great fight like the previous two.” With the WBC bantamweight class empty, there’s plenty to look forward to when Estrada and Gonzalez ring the bell this Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona.
“He beat me in 2012,” Estrada said of Gonzalez, “and I beat him in the second match, so you could say it was decisive. There could be a fourth like Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Márquez, who knows? We’re going to have our trio and we don’t know if it’ll end here or not. We’ll find out who’s the best, who’s going to lead the fights to win and if in the future, God willing, there’s a fourth, let’s move on.”
Although the two men are now said to be arch-rivals, Estrada makes it clear that he respects his old foe. “He’s going to be a Hall of Famer,” he said of Gonzalez. “He is a boxer who has won many titles in four divisions. I respect him as a boxer, and you can tell he’s had a very different career than mine. I’ve won titles too, but I think he’s a great fighter and in the fights we’ve had. I think he also realized that I’m not like any other fighter and when we fight now, it’s up to us to decide who’s the best.”
For Estrada, he and Chocolatito were more competitors than bitter rivals. He said: “When you were told that you were going to play Chocolatito, there was competition there but that was sport. “It’s not: ‘I’ll kill him!’ It’s a different way of feeling. You’re more focused on having a good training camp so you can beat him…in the ring, I’d say he’s my enemy but when the fight is over we’ll hug, walk out get out of the ring, talk to each other and we wish each other well and we’ll be on our way.”
With all that said, Estrada is fully aware of the importance of this weekend’s fight. “This fight is very important because it is a three-way match against a boxer who will be in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “Without a doubt, this match is the most important match of my career because imagine beating Román González. You won’t take anything from him, but I’ll be in his place.
