With a Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez trilogy looming, Juan Francisco Estrada returned to the ring to face Argi Cortes on Saturday from Hermosillo, Mexico. A win and the trilogy would be signed, sealed, and delivered.
Cortes didn't make it easy as he hung in there tougher than expected. Still, Estrada showed why he's perhaps the best super flyweight in the world by dropping and using his power advantage to win a unanimous decision (115-112, 115-112, 114-113) to retain the Ring Magazine title. DAZN scored the fight 116-111 for Estrada.
During his post-fight interview, it was revealed that Estrada and Gonzalez would meet for the third time on Saturday, Dec. 3. A site wasn't announced.
Estrada (43-3, 26 KOs) came out boxing well despite the 17-month layoff. He was throwing combinations, landing power shots, and was on the verge of putting Cortes away.
But Estrada took his foot slightly off the gas pedal, and Cortes took advantage. Then, the sizable underdog started landing power shots of his own, moving Estrada back and fighting on the inside to let Estrada know if he was going to win and move on to his next challenge, he would have to earn it.
Estrada rose to the occasion and in the seventh round, dropped Cortes with a vicious body shot. From there, Estrada continued his relentless attack and fended off Cortes' pursuit of a knockout in the final two rounds to extend his winning streak.
Here is what happened at Juan Francisco vs. Argi Cortes.