Juan Francisco Estrada v Carlos Cuadras
Following eleven rounds of thrilling action, WBC world super flyweight champion Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada (41-3, 28 KO’s) was able to force the stoppage of Carlos “Principe” Cuadras (39-4-1, 27 KO’s). It was the second time that Estrada has bested Cuadras. The two had previously done battle back on September 9, 2017. In that razor thin slugfest, Estrada narrowly prevailed due to a scale-tipping tenth round knockdown.
With this win over Principe in the DAZN main event, El Gallo has set up another potential rematch with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KO’s). If the fight is made a reality, unlike his rematch with Cuadras, Estrada would be looking for revenge. In their previous encounter, on November 17, 2012, Chocolatito claimed a unanimous decision victory over Estrada. Not only would El Gallo being gunning for payback, he would be aiming to unify.
ALL GAS, NO BREAKS!
As most expected, the prizefight got off to swift start right from word ‘go’. Both Estrada and Cuadras threw a great deal of shots. Yet, it was Principe that connected with more of the eye-catching punches. The close nature of the fight persisted until the final moments of the third. It was then that Cuadras knocked Estrada down with a right uppercut and left hook that landed flush on the chin.
To his credit, Estrada made a good account of himself in fourth and continued going blow-for-blow with Cuadras. Although still fighting in tit-for-tat fashion, Estrada enjoyed his best round of the fight by far in the fifth. Principe displayed a fantastic chin as he ate several flush, left hooks and uppercuts throughout the period.
The hurricane of punches, which was a judge’s nightmare, would persist until the eighth round. Then, both men eased off the gas, at least for the beginning of the period. By the end of the 3-minutes, they had resumed their high quality Rock-Em-Sock-Em robot impression. While the back and forth action never ceased, the Principe looked to be bothered by a number of air-stealing body blows.
OUT ON HIS SHIELD
Despite appearing to be slightly wilting, Cuadras enjoyed a very good tenth only to meet disaster in the eleventh. Early in the round, a flurry of punches capped by a straight right sent Principe to the canvas. Ever the warrior, Cuadras found his feet and soldiered on only to be dumped on the floor even harder by way of a right hook.
This time, Estrada would significantly hurt Cuadras, who would never truly recover. The ref allowed the action to continue until, while back peddling, he ate a stiff 1-2. At this point, the bout was finally waved off. This was an absolute thrilling war and Carlos “Principe” Cuadras has nothing to be ashamed of.
But now, fight fans can officially start drooling over an impending Juan Francisco Estrada versus Roman Gonzalez unification prizefight!
By: Bakari Simpson
