Victorious Juan Francisco Estrada has recognised the controversy caused by one of the judges’ scoring decisions in his fight with Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez on Saturday night.
The Mexican won by a split decision, and in the process unified the WBC and WBA super flyweight titles. The victory meant some form of revenge for Estrada, who lost to Chocolatito in 2012 in a junior flyweight match-up. To most observers, the 115-113 split decision from two judges fairly represented a tight fight that went right to the wire.
However Carlos Sucre, the bout’s other judge, was suspended by the WBA as a response to his decisive 117-111 scoring that ultimately awarded the win to Estrada.
Estrada acknowledged afterwards that on the face of it, the fight could have gone to either fighter.
"There was no robbery, the fight was very even, yes, and they could also give it to him, but thanks to God and the work that was done, the judges saw me winning," Estrada admitted.
"[What happens] at the end of the day is what matters, negative comments will always exist so enjoy these fights and stop complaining, [because the sport of] boxing and the people came out as the winners."
After eight years between two fights, a trilogy decider could take place far sooner, though Estrada’s WBC mandatory challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is one obstacle that will have to be negotiated.