The Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas – Former four division world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (49-2, 41 KOs) turned back the clock as he beat down and knocked out unbeaten Kal Yafai (26-1, 15 KOs) in the ninth round to capture the WBA super flyweight world title.
Yafai started well in the first with his boxing ability, but he allowed Gonzalez to get in by trading with him at close range. Gonzalez was landing crisp power shots in the second and seemed to bother Yafai at the end.
Both had their moments in the third, as they traded punches. Yafai had the edge as his sheer size was pushing Gonzalez back. Gonzalez came back in the fourth with an arsenal of hard shots as they traded at close range.
Gonzalez continued to unload with both hands during the fifth round, at close range. There was a clash of heads in the sixth, which opened up a cut around the right eye of Gonzalez, who rallied in the final minute with a lot of big shots.
Gonzalez was pushing Yafai back with punches in the seventh.. The face of Yafai was starting to swell up from the incoming shots. During the eight, Gonzalez was really busting up Yafai and dropped him from a combination in the closing seconds.
At the start of the ninth, Gonzalez landed a huge right that send Yafai down hard and the fight was waved off.
