INGLEWOOD, Calif. ? Roman ?Chocolatito? Gonzalez accomplished what he set out to do Saturday night.
He moved up to super flyweight ? 115 pounds ? and took down the champion Carlos Cuadras by unanimous decision. In the process, he did what his mentor, friend and idol Alexis Arguello was unable to do ? win a title in his fourth weight class to become the first fighter from Nicaragua to do it.
?I will never be better than Arguello,? Chocolatito said. ?He is the teacher. I am his son. He will always be No. 1.?
The raucous crowd of 6,714 at the Forum, pitting a noisy group of Nicaraguans against an equally vociferous group of Mexican fans, roared its approval as both fighters put on a performance for the ages in the lower weight classes.
Gonzalez (46-0, 38 KOs) won by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. USA TODAY scored it 117-111 for Gonzalez. His superb footwork and accurate combinations were the difference in the fight.
?I thought I won,? Gonzalez said. ?He was very good, but I was better tonight. He is very strong, but my combinations were the difference tonight.?
Gonzalez won over Cuadras (35-1-1, 27 KOs) with his performance.
?Gonzalez is relentless. He never gets tired,? said Cuadras, who said this week he thought Gonzalez was too small to beat him. ?He goes all night long. I felt I did enough to win the fight, and I hit him more tonight than he?s ever been hit, and he kept coming.
?His defense was better than I expected.?
It was far from easy for the consensus No. 1 pound for-pound fighter in the world. Cuadras, from Mexico, was mostly unknown in the U.S., fighting here for just the second time in his career. But after Saturday, he won over a lot of fans as he went toe-toe with one of the greatest boxers on the planet.
Round after round, the fighters threw combinations, and combined to throw 1,822 punches over 12 rounds. Gonzalez landed 322 of 983 and Cuadras was right behind, connecting on 257 of 889.
Gonzalez?s eyes were both swollen nearly shut by the end of the fight, and Cuadras fought through a cut over his right eye for most of the fight, though his cutman did a masterful job of keeping the blood to a minimum.
?Yes, I?m ready to fight anyone at all, I need to take some time off,? Chocolatito said. ?But I will face anyone.?
