Coming into the rematch against Carlos Cuadras on Friday night at Azteca Studios in Mexico City, Juan Francisco Estrada had been out for 426 days. Would the layoff prove to be too much?
It took Estrada a little bit to get going, but he showed up when it mattered most, winning a back-and-forth slugfest over Cuadras with an 11th round TKO stoppage to retain the WBC super flyweight title.
For the first two rounds, Estrada looked like he hadn't missed a beat.
But things took a dramatic turn near the end of the third round when Cuadras connected on a vicious right uppercut that staggered Estrada. Cuadras immediately followed up with a double left hook to send Estrada to the canvas. Cuadras tried to close the show by continuing to land left hooks, but Estrada made it to the bell.
Estrada did the unthinkable and changed course for the remainder of the fight and decided to be the aggressor. He came right out and rocked Cuadras with his customary left hook. Cuadras didn't take a back seat, and popped the jab and put the left hook behind it.
Estrada staggered Cuadras for a moment with a hard, stiff right hand at the start of the fifth round. Cuadras started to regain the momentum, but Estrada stunned Cuadras again with a left uppercut. With 30 seconds remaining in the stanza, both guys fired everything in their bag, with Estrada having a slight advantage, landing the crisper shots.
The tide of the fight shifted to Estrada's direction in the sixth round. The champion landed a vicious body shot to the body and attempted to put Cuadras away. As was the theme of the fight, every time Cuadras appeared to be done for, he rebounded with a flurry of his own. In the last half of the round, Cuadras was fatigued with his mouth wide open and gasping for air.
In rounds seven thru nine, Estrada made it a point to pound Cuadras' body and left his opponent having to protect his right side so the former wouldn't continue the assault.
Even though Cuadras refused to give up, Estrada's championship mettle ended up being the determining factor. In the eleventh round, the pounding on Cuadras' body finally took its took as Estrada hit a laser left hook followed by a right hook to send Cuadras to the canvas for the first time.
Cuadras showed how much heart he had in making the count and getting back to his feet. He got up and continued to try and win the fight. But Estrada showed why he's one of the best in the world. They were exchanging, but Estrada got the better of the sequence, and a thudding right sent Cuadras face-first to the mat.
Somehow, Cuadras made it back up once again. But this time, Estrada (41-3, 28 KOs) made sure to close the show. Seeing he had Cuadras dead to rights, he uncorked a series of shots, and the referee saw enough and stopped the beating at the 2:22 mark.
With an Estrada victory and a Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez win in the co-main event over Israel Gonzalez, a rematch between the top 115-pound fighters in the world looks to be closer than ever.
Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez dominates to inch closer to unification fight
Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez proved to the boxing world that he wasn't washed up in February with his WBA super flyweight title win over Kid Yafai. "Chocolatito" once again showed that he's back and put on a vintage performance, beating Israel Gonzalez by unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112, 117-111) to retain the WBA (super) super flyweight championship.
After a bit of a feeling-out process in the first round, "Chocolatito" and Gonzalez turned it on in the second round. It was the 23-year-old Gonzalez who gained a short advantage, using his length by keeping "Chocolatito" at the end of his jab and staying away from the Nicaraguan's power with his speed advantage.
But “Chocolatito” bounced back in third and figured Gonzalez out. He cut off the ring and started implementing angles, keeping Gonzalez against the ropes to pound the body and continuously land hard shots.
In the middle rounds, “Chocolatito” showed what made him the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world a few short years ago. Even though Gonzalez had the speed advantage, “Chocolatito” continued to wear Gonzalez down with non-stop pressure, cutting off the ring, keeping him on the ropes and throwing combinations at will.
Gonzalez made a last stand starting in the eighth round, getting the fight in the middle of the ring and connecting on a series of right uppercuts and “Chocolatitio." But the Nicuargian stayed the course and never took the foot off the gas pedal until the final horn sounded. According to Compubox, "Chocolatito" threw an astounding 1,241 punches, connecting on 337 of them.
The win is “Chocolatito’s” (50-2, 41 KOs) fourth in a row and puts himself in a prime position to face Estrada in his next fight.
Julio Cesar Martinez plows through Moises Calleros to retain WBC crown
Julio Cesar Martinez wanted to prove the point that he is the best flyweight in the world. He made a heck of a case, running roughshod over Calleros to win by TKO at 2:02 of the second to remain the WBC flyweight champion.
Martinez didn’t waste any time attacking Calleros from the opening bell. After landing a series of left hands, Martinez blasted Calleros with a hard left hand, followed a straight right hand and a left hook to wobble Calleros and send him to a knee. Somehow, Calleros survived the opening round, but he wasn’t long for the fight.
The WBC flyweight champion began the second round by blitzing Calleros with power shots. Calleros had no time to get into any rhythm because Martinez was like the Tazmanian Devil. He would always be in constant motion, seamlessly switch stances, blast Calleros from either position and give him no room to breathe. Martinez (17-1, 13 KOs) put him out his misery, getting Calleros against the ropes and stunning him with a thunderous right uppercut. Martinez followed up with a barrage of shots until the referee finally saw enough to defend his title for the second time successfully.
Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Carlos Cuadras 2 results
- Juan Francisco Estrada def. Carlos Cuadras by TKO at 2:22 of the 11th round to retain the WBC Super Flyweight title
- Roman Gonzalez def. Israel Gonzalez by unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112, 117-111) to retain the WBA Super Flyweight title
- Julio Cesar Martinez def. Moises Calleros by TKO at 2:02 of the second round to retain the WBC Flyweight title.
- Diego Pacheco def. Juan Antonio Mendez by TKO at 2:02 of the second round.
- Austin Williams def. Esau Herrera by TKO at 1:36 of the fifth round.
- Otha Jones III and Kevin Mendoza battle to a draw (58-56 Jones, 58-56 Mendoza, 57-57).