There is nothing like a homecoming fight, even for Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, one of the best fighters of this generation, will square off against Rober Barrera Friday night at the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello in Gonzalez’s hometown of Managua, Nicaragua. The 10-round fight will stream live on ESPN+ in the United States and on ESPN Knockout (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Gonzalez weighed in at 116.8 pounds. Barrera came in at 117 pounds.
The events have generated a buzz throughout Managua and the surrounding areas. A sell-out crowd is expected Friday night for the card that will be co-promoted by Akihiko Honda and Tuto Zabala, Jr
Gonzalez (51-4, 41 knockouts) has not fought in Managua since a knockout win over Valentin Leon in February 2015. Since the win over Leon, Gonzalez, at that time the WBC world flyweight titleholder, would win world title belts at 115 and 118 pounds.
The 37-year-old is excited to fight before a hometown crowd after putting in several weeks’ worth of training and sparring in Coachella, California.
Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez – Photo by Jairo Cajina/All Star Boxing
“There is no easy opponent. Everyone is good,” said Gonzalez at Monday’s press conference to kick off weeklong festivities, which included an open workout at a mall on Tuesday and another press conference Wednesday. “He is an opponent who is not scared and is very hungry. I hope to God everything turns out well (Friday). We want to give a great fight to the fans.”
In his last bout in December 2022, Gonzalez lost by close majority decision to Juan Francisco Estrada. The fight was the final of three action bouts, with each winning one prior to the rubber match.
Ironically, Gonzalez and newly-crowned Ring junior bantamweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez sparred each other prior to Rodriguez stopping Estrada on June 29.
Both are promoted by Honda, but Gonzalez is open to a fight against Rodriguez.
“It will be a very important fight,” said Gonzalez, who won his first world title belt in September 2008. “I’ve always said, at the end of my career, (fighting) a legend like ‘Bam’ would allow me to earn a great amount of money.”
Gonzalez, who is trained by Marcos Caballero and managed by Carlos Blandon, has talked about fighting for a world title belt at 118 pounds in recent months. Gonzalez notched his last win in March 5, defeating then-WBC flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez by unanimous decision. Martinez stepped in to fight Gonzalez after Estrada, the original opponent, had to back out after testing positive for COVID-19.
Barrera (27-5, 17 KOs), who resides in Monteria, Colombia, stopped journeyman Victor Berrio in the second round of his last bout on December 17. Barrera has won his last three fights since a split-decision loss to Pablo Carrillo in July 2022.
The 31-year-old challenged then-WBA world junior flyweight titleholder Ryoichi Taguchi in July 2017, losing by knockout in round nine.
Also on the card, Kevin Vivas (7-2, 2 KOs), who also resides in Nicaragua, will face fringe contender Azael Villar (20-3-4, 15 KOs) of Panama in an eight-round bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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