Gonzalez negotiating with Yafai for June 23rd UK bout

The fight would be Yafai’s fifth title defense

If Roman Gonzalez gets his way, he’ll have a shot at reclaiming his champion status early this summer. He tells Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa that manager Carlos Blandon and promoter Akihiko Honda are looking to pit him against WBA super flyweight champ Kal Yafai on a June 23rd Eddie Hearn show in the UK.

Gonzalez (47-2, 39 KO) had a nightmare 2017, losing his WBC belt to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai via majority decision and suffering a gruesome knockout loss in the rematch. After a year on the shelf, he returned on the Canelo-Golovkin 2 card with a five-round drubbing of Moises Fuentes.

Yafai (25-0, 15 KO) has been linked to a potential unification match with Jerwin Ancajas for a little under a year, but that fight lost some of its appeal in September when Ancajas barely escaped with a draw against Alejandro Santiago. There’s also the possibility of Ancajas fighting Sor Rungvisai, leaving Yafai to take on “Chocolatito” in what would be by far his toughest challenge to date.