Roman Gonzalez TKO’s Kal Yafai in Nine To Win WBA Super-Flyweight Title
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez showed that he still has something left in the tank as he knocked out Khalid Yafai (26-1, 15 KOs) in the 9th round to capture the WBA World Super-Flyweight title tonight at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
THE BREAKDOWN
Normally more of a boxer, Yafai elected to stand more in the center of the ring and trade with the legendary challenger. The champ paid for his strategy early on as he was stunned towards the end of the second round with left and right uppercuts.
It seemed Yafai assumed because he was the naturally bigger man, he could walk down and overpower his foe. Problem is that when it comes to “Chocolatito”, he has a Ph.D. when it comes to inside fighting. He would use those skills and experience to land with punches to the body and head during the early rounds.
Gonzalez suffered a cut over his right eye as a result of a headbutt. In the seventh and eighth rounds, Gonzalez was really finding his groove as he bombarded Yafai with an assortment of shots. With thirteen seconds left in round eight, Yafai, in fact, was put down by a barrage of punches. If there was more time left in the round, he probably would have been stopped.
At this point, you could sense the end was near. Early in round nine, Gonzalez landed with a tremendous left-right square on the jaw of Yafai that put him down for a second time. Referee Luis Pabon called a halt to the fight with 2:31 to go in the round.
Gonzalez is a true legend of the sport and now a five-time world champion in four weight divisions (strawweight, junior flyweight, flyweight, super flyweight). Emotional after the fight, the newly crowned champ, deeply committed to his faith, thanked God for his victory.
He also thanked his co-promoters, Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotions and Eddie Hearn of Matchroom for granting him another opportunity to fight for a world title. Moving forward, the new world champ stated that his goal is to unify the super flyweight division.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
