Roman Gonzalez Could Move Up To Face Takuma Inoue Next
It was a triumphant homecoming for super flyweight Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (52-4, 42 KOs) as he scored a tenth-round stoppage of Rober “El Huracan” Barrera (27-6, 17 KOs) in Managua, Nicaragua. Chocolatito now aspires to win a world title in the bantamweight division and could face WBA champion Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5KOs).
Gonzalez was dominant against El Huracan. One of boxing’s great pressure fighters, he overwhelmed his foe and dished out a systematic beating. The fighting legend from Nicaragua put Barrera down in rounds eight and nine before the referee had seen enough punishment and waved off the fight over in the opening minute of round ten. It was Gonzalez’s first fight since a majority decision loss in his trilogy fight with rival Juan Francisco Estrada in December 2022.
ONE LAST PUSH
A four-division world champion, the 37-year-old Chocolatito wants to win another world title in a fifth weight division, bantamweight. Interestingly, all four major world champions at 118 hail from Japan. But Gonzalez has fought in that country numerous times and is co-promoted by Akihiko Honda of Japanese promotional powerhouse Teiken.
Of the reigning champions at bantamweight, word on the street is that Gonzalez could pursue a fight with Inoue, who is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Sho Ishida in May 2024.
Inoue has no upcoming fight set as of this writing. So, fight fans could see a battle between Inoue and Gonzalez by the end of this year. Whether it’s Inoue or not, Chocolatito is back and is putting the bantamweight division on notice.
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