There is still a whole lot of magic and sheer class in the boxing career of future Hall of Famer Roman Gonzalez. The 37-year-old Nicaraguan great returned to action for the first time in 19 months last night in his homeland. His fight with Rober Barrera of Colombia, “Chocolatito’s,” was the first fight in Nicaragua for almost a full decade. Gonzalez did not let his passionate countrymen and women down.
Gonzalez, 52-4(41), scored two knockdowns along the way to his tenth-round stoppage win over 31-year-old Barrera, 27-6(17). During the tenth round, Gonzalez had Barrera trapped and taking shots, with the referee choosing to halt the fight. Time was 51 seconds, and Gonzalez’s latest comeback proved a great success.
Gonzalez showed some rust early on, as was to be expected, but once he got into his groove, Gonzalez reminded everyone how smooth and silky he really could be. Barrera was aggressive and gave it a real shot, but Gonzalez took over in the second half of the fight. Barrera showed a fine chin and also displayed heart, but Gonzalez scored his first knockdown in round eight with a nasty body shot that sent the younger man down in a delayed reaction fashion.
In the ninth, Gonzalez dropped Barrera again, this time with a combo upstairs, “Chocolatito’s” two right hands and his left hook doing the damage. Once again, Barrera hauled himself upright and made it out of the round. Gonzalez closed the show inside a minute of the tenth. Now on the hunt for another world title – Gonzalez already having claimed no less than five major belts – he could fight the new star of the 115-pound division, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
These two greatly respect and admire each other, but Gonzalez recently said he would be open to the fight “for the right price.” Money talks, as we know. So, can Gonzalez, who won for the first time in over two years last night, add another title to his collection? If it is “Bam” who Gonzalez challenges in his quest to rule again, the veteran would more than likely be a hefty underdog. Still, Gonzalez, who was stopped just once by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in September of 2017, showed us all last night that he had a good deal left in the tank.
