A common sports media trope concerning fighting sports is the idea that once major stars lose or leave the sport ratings and interest will fall. We recently saw this with the defeat of both Holly Holm and Conor McGregor at UFC 196. The immediate social media reaction, outside of mocking McGregor, can best be summarized by the short phrase: “RIP UFC”. The following day brought with it the much expected talk on Sports radio and various other Sports media. Everyone was asking the obligatory question, “Was Holm and McGregor losing bad for the UFC?”. The obvious answer is no.
Dana White and various others who follow fighting sports on a regular basis pointed out quite reasonably that these losses actually attract more viewers and that the UFC always continues to churn out quality and watchable fighters. Boxing also recently experienced a major loss (some might suggest otherwise, myself included) in the retirement of Floyd Mayweather. The worry has been that since Mayweather has seemingly carried boxing on his shoulders since the turn of the millennium that the vacuum he leaves behind will be too large to fill. I contend, however, that this could not be further from the truth. Boxing has an array of stars and without the dominating and rather boring presence of Mayweather these young men will now have their opportunity to shine. Some of the more well-known figures include Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev and Tyson Fury. Outside of the PPV leading champions lays perhaps the best fighter of them all, flyweight Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, only recently introduced to the American fight audience on HBO in May of 2015 in a bout with Edgar Sosa as an undercard to Golovkin-Willie Monroe Jr, is perhaps the most spectacular offensive fighter in a generation. He has the quick hands of Mayweather, nearly flawless footwork, and an aggressive style that leaves the viewer in anticipation of a wild flurry of punches that can come at any moment. He’s had a long career for someone just being introduced to a US audience with a record of 44-0. Most of his big fights have taken place in Japan, likely due to the Japanese audience’s love of smaller fighters and the fact that his promoter Akihiko Hondo is based there.. But now he’s set for his 3rd fight in front of an American audience as an undercard once again for Golovkin at Inglewood, California on April 23 on HBO.
His previous two HBO fights have been fantastic. The first, in May of 2015, was against veteran Edgar Sosa. The match was a painful 2 rounds for the former WBC light flyweight champion. Gonzalez made a decent fighter look like he had lost all of his defensive fundamentals with a dizzying array of accurate and lightning fast punches that chased Sosa around every inch of the ring. “Chocolatito” 2nd HBO fight, on October 17th of last year and once again as an undercard for Golovkin, was against decorated amateur sensation and notable professional Brian Viloria. Albeit having a bit of a slow start Gonzalez took control of the match by the 4th round. The match lasted another 5 rounds and had some good back and forth action but Gonzalez’s relentless offensive onslaught hammered away at Viloria until the ref called the fight in the 9th round.
In watching Roman Gonzalez’s last 4 or 5 fights a few things have become clear which make him arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the game. His most obvious asset are his quick, accurate, and powerful punches. His impeccable footwork and body control allow him not only to minimize the energy he spends on his constant Street Fighter 2-esque combos but also provide him with an impressive and mobile defense that permits him to wage total war with his fists without being left vulnerable to easy counter-attacks. For anyone who believes that boxing will now completely fall off the radar in lieu of Mayweather’s retirement all they need to do is tune in to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez’s next fight on April 23 against McWilliams Arroyo. If you stick around you’ll also happen to see Gennady Golovkin show off his golden fists to end the night.