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They say that big things come in small packages and those are the exact words to describe the co-main event of Golovkin vs. Lemieux and Roman Gonzalez vs. Brian Viloria this coming Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Pound for Pound
The Pound for Pound rankings was created to determine the best fighters in the world regardless of weight. When Floyd Mayweather was still fighting, he was on top of that list for a very long time. But now that he’s busy counting and spending his money, the smallest guy in the old Top 10 list has vaulted all the way to the top.
At 5-3 and fighting at the flyweight limit of 112 pounds, Roman Gonzalez is literally small. But once he enters the ring, he becomes a larger than life attraction. Known as Chocolatito, Gonzalez is unbeaten in 43 fights and has 37 wins by way of knockout. Since turning pro, Chocolatito has blitzed through three weight classes and is the only other three-division world champion from Argentina aside from the legendary Alexis Arguello.
Equally Explosive
When the promoters booked Golovkin-Lemieux, it was hailed as one of the best matchups ever made in this era of promotional wars. But when Gonzalez picked Brian Viloria as his opponent in the co-featured bout, it solidified the fight card and gave it an equally explosive appetizer.
Brian Viloria is no walk in the park for Roman Gonzalez. The Filipino-Hawaiian standout is a former two division world champion who at age 34 remains one of the toughest fighters in his weight class. Since losing his WBA and WBO flyweight titles to Juan Francisco Estrada by split decision in 2013, Viloria has racked up four consecutive wins including the last three by KO within five rounds. The Hawaiian punch believes that there is still one more big fight left in him before he retires.
Who Takes This?
Chocolatito is a huge -1400 favorite against the Hawaiian Punch who is at +700 in most betting books but make no mistake about it, Viloria is no stranger to fighting against the odds. After being given up for dead in 2007 after losing twice to Omar Nino and Edgar Sosa, Viloria won the Light Flyweight title in 2009 and the Flyweight title in 2011 to resurrect his career. Now trained by Freddie Roach, Viloria is in the best shape in years and won’t be intimidated by Gonzalez.
But while Viloria is great, Chocolatito is pretty special. With power in both fists, we should see a war against Viloria. Comparing offensive arsenals though, Gonzalez has the much varied attack and has the better defense. Having said that, Viloria should hold his own but tire in the latter rounds as he usually does in his losses. Gonzalez should win by late stoppage in a fight that should be close in the scorecards.
*photo credit – boxingnewsonline.net
