In a thrilling trilogy fight, Juan Estrada defeats Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez by majority vote.

Juan Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez squared off for the third battle in their long-running feud, and Juan Estrada eventually won. On Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona, after another exciting 12 rounds of boxing, Estrada’s powerful boxing in the opening rounds was enough to give him a slim majority decision and the WBC super flyweight title.

Gonzalez was erratic from the beginning of the fight, pursuing Estrada about the ring for the majority of each round but only managing to trap Estrada’s back against the ropes once. Gonzalez was able to attack Estrada with quicker, more precise combinations on his elder opponent, which allowed Estrada to fight with a smooth manner while on the back foot.

Estrada had the bigger moments in those scenarios, popping off rapid combinations and escaping to the center of the ring without sustaining any harm. In theory, “Chocolatito” should have benefited from the times when Golzalez managed to trap Estrada against the ropes.

Gonzalez appeared to come to grips with things in the middle rounds as he suddenly applied pressure more forcefully and eventually connected with punches as Estrada stumbled and collided with the ropes. After the bout’s good start, Estrada needed to make changes and retake the initiative in a battle that he had in the early rounds with ease.

After Estrada initially appeared to have the upper hand in the fight, Gonzalez’s comeback in the later rounds left the 12th round very much up in the air. This resulted in a frenetic closing three minutes in which both fighters gave it their all in an effort to secure the victory. Both fighters flubbed, connected with their blows, and the bout was submitted to the judges with the outcome still up in the air.

The ringside judges scored the bout Estrada by majority decision with scores of 114-114, 116-112 and 115-113 following 12 rounds of exaggerated momentum shifts.

Estrada’s strong performance in the final round secured him the razor-thin victory and handed him the lead, 2-1, in a bout between two of the best boxers of their time competing in lighter weight divisions.

Gonzalez might have defeated his opponent if he had been able to find the gas pedal in the opening rounds, but Estrada won the bout thanks to better, smoother boxing throughout. In November 2012, Estrada won their first encounter unanimously. In their rematch in March 2021, Gonzalez prevailed through split decision.

After another 12-round contest in which both fighters gave it their all, Estrada declared he was ready for one more battle to prolong the rivalry.

We can hold a fourth fight if he requests one, Estrada stated. “The crowd appeared to have enjoyed the battle tonight. In my first battle, which took place ten years ago, I competed at a lighter weight. In our subsequent bout, which took place at super flyweight, I believed we had outstanding preparation for success.”

Speaking after the bout, Gonzalez was equally willing to go back and try it one more time.

Gonzalez remarked, “It was a wonderful fight for the public.” “I did what I could, and the outcome was as expected. I wanted to see what he had. What matters is that we put up a valiant battle for the people and that we survived unscathed. Of course, I would participate in a fourth fight if they offered good cash. That is why we are here.”