Can Roman Gonzalez Make History As Boxing's Smallest-ever Pound For Pound Number One?

By Chris Williamson.

He may only stand at 5'3" in height and tip the scales at a mere eight stone, but Roman Gonzalez is fast becoming one of the giants of our sport.

His two-round destruction of former Light-Flyweight champion Edgar Sosa at the Inglewood Forum on Saturday night has had many observers searching for new superlatives for the 27-year-old Nicaraguan, who successfully defended his WBC Flyweight belt for the second time having already previously held titles at Strawweight and Light-Flyweight.

"I think I've just found my new favourite fighter," enthused former WBO Featherweight titlist Barry Jones, who commentated on the fight for BoxNation. Back in the same broadcaster's studio, Gary Lockett felt compelled to stir the pot even further, adding, "Gonzalez may even be better than the great Ricardo Lopez." 

Many will no doubt be balking at Lockett's claim. After all, the outstanding Lopez, until very recent times the only truly outstanding fighter to have graced the Strawweight division and who bowed out of the sport in 2001 with an unbeaten 51-0-1 record (and that 1998 draw against Rosendo Alvarez was turned in to a deserved points win in their rematch) after adding an additional Light-Flyweight belt, has frequently been cited as one of his era's most complete fighters, a claim I'd happily back up. His claim to be the greatest fighter from Flyweight or below since the War has also grown to something very close to unanimity amongst boxing fans and historians.

But with every passing fight, Gonzalez is quickly exhausting all viable challenges available to him and extinguishing any lingering doubts about his place near the top of the boxing pile.

And so now we need to start pondering the question - could the Nicaraguan possibly become the Flyweight division's first ever pound for pound number one? If he carries on at the rate of knots he's currently proceeding at, becoming the smallest man to ever wear that mythical crown could well be within his grasp.

Of course, that's one for the commentators, writers and fans to decide. Divisions below Featherweight typically don't wet the appetite of TV networks, and nor do they attract much fanfare outside of the sport's obsessives. But crucially, Gonzalez could be the man to help break that mould - his masterclass blowout of Sosa the other night was the first time that a Flyweight world title fight had been shown on primetime HBO in America since Danny Romero's 1995 defence of his IBF 112 lb belt against Miguel Martinez. The buzz around Gonzalez has become so strong that it has forced the network giants to release a stranglehold which has been suffocating the 'little men' for two decades, and the quality of his showing against Sosa will surely guarantee that this new-found breathing space will remain for a while.

Nevertheless, even with additional network backing, increased purses and a larger fan base, it would still seem unfathomable to many that a Flyweight could ever become the consensus choice to be boxing's finest, pound for pound. Fans naturally have misgivings about how deep the weight classes at Gonzalez's end of the spectrum can be, with so many world titles separated, at times, by as little as 3 lb between divisions. They'll also point out the demographics of such weight classes, highlighting that they appear almost exclusive to the Oriental and Latin nations while the USA and Europe make little more than occasional cameos. Not the most truly 'international' of the weight classes.

But consider the names above Gonzalez's in the quest for pound for pound supremacy. Floyd Mayweather has that mantle all to himself right now, but it's doubtful that he's the glorious fighter he once was based on some recent showings, and at the age of 38 there's every chance that this September's proposed date, which will see an end to his astonishingly lucrative deal with HBO's eternal rivals Showtime, could well be his last fight. His most recent victim, Manny Pacquiao, is also at the end of his brilliant career and showing similar signs of decline. Andre Ward's career has stalled in recent times in the furnace of injury and managerial disputes, yet to really rev back in to full throttle.

Guillermo Rigondeax, the world's premier Super-Bantamweight, has widespread acclaim for his lavish skills, but continues to struggle to bag the big fights, and at 34 is long in the tooth for a 122 pounder. Wladimir Klitschko, so often criticised for failing to bring excitement to his fights despite racking up a shed load of world title defences at Heavyweight, also recently convinced HBO to give him another chance, but his twelve-round points win against the overmatched and inexperienced Bryant Jennings failed to ignite the passions of boxing fan's the way Gonzalez did against Sosa, and on that evidence he may be behind Gonzalez in the queue for another slot on their rota - not to mention the small matter of him surely being on borrowed time as well, as he'll turn forty next year.

So with all that in mind, can Gonzalez become the best pound for pound fighter in the sport and reach that status with the fans? Well, if his current momentum continues, why not? His resume, even allowing for his weight classes, is already mightily impressive. Sosa himself made ten successful defences of his Light-Flyweight belt between 2007 and 2009. Juan Francisco Estrada, vanquished via a unanimous decision in 2012, has since rebounded to unify the WBA Super and WBO belts at Flyweight. Akira Yaegashi was in superb form as the WBC and Ring Magazine Flyweight champion before Gonzalez mauled him to a stunning ninth-round TKO loss last September. While Kazuto Ioka, himself a very fine technician and the current WBA 'regular' champion at the weight, was able to beat Yaeashi by a close decision back in 2012, he was never able to utterly dominate him the way Gonzalez did.

Don't be too judgemental of the fact that Gonzalez competes in an largely unglamorous division, then - there is some real quality there, and he's looked a million dollars against just about all of them. While someone like Rigondeaux does admittedly have an exceptional win over a then pound for pounder himself in Nonito Donaire back in 2013, there's an argument to be made that, as an overall resume, Gonzalez's reads just as well. Or whisper it, maybe even better.

He's got the style to make huge inroads in the psyche of the mainstream boxing fan, too. Take a look at his showing against Yaegashi as an example. Gonzalez is like a right-handed version of a peak Manny Pacquiao in that fight. Blazing hand speed, beautiful, accurate combinations switched effortlessly between head and body and the ability to find punches from such angles which make them almost impossible to defend against. 

Sosa tried to jab, counter and move, but found within seconds that Gonzalez just gives you nowhere to go. He's a pressure fighter who doesn't even have to be throwing shots to pressure you - his ability to cut off the escape routes does that trick. And while he's no Pernell Whitaker or Nicolino Locche, he has a pretty solid concept of defence, too. It's telling that, even when he opens up at mid-range, his opponents have a hard time landing telling shots, despite Gonzalez being right in front of them. He has that ability to counter while at the same time being on the front foot. His opponents try as best they can, but so far there just seems to be nowhere for them to go, no tactic to give them hope or discourage their tormentor. 

With so many key figures in the sport coming towards the end of their careers, Gonzalez's next few fights and the quality of his opposition could be crucial - if he and his team get them right, he may well be the man to time his run to the top of the tree as the older generation makes way. Who will be next? Japan's latest boxing sensation, Naoya Inoue, has already bagged belts in two weight classes after a grand total of just eight professional fights. Cynics may say that this says more about the quality of the divisions in and around him, but nevertheless the Japanese is building a solid fan base and brings ability to the table. However, he is only 22 and there is a feeling that he and his team may prefer to let a potential showdown with Gonzalez 'grow', a theory which also may explain why, after vacating his WBC Light-Flyweight belt, Inoue bypassed Gonzalez's Flyweight division and instead contested the WBO belt 3 lb north of that at Super-Flyweight. 

As mentioned earlier, Estrada has rebounded fantastically to scoop up the WBA and WBO belts at Flyweight and has campaigned for another crack at Gonzalez, having complained bitterly that he wasn't in tip-top condition for their first encounter and that Gonzalez has been running scared of a return. While going over old ground may not satisfy all of Gonzalez's fans, Estrada still represents a very credible win for any champion at 112 lb, and if he could silence his rival once and for all it would more or less give him a clean sweep of all the Flyweight belts.

Anmat Ruenroeng holds the IBF title, taken in an upset split decision from the previously unbeaten Kazuto Ioka last year, but in my personal opinion it's still Ioka, who now holds the 'regular' WBA world title (it's still one of boxing's great contradiction in terms) who has the skill set and style to pose Gonzalez the most problems of all the remaining Flyweights. Ioka is a fighter of a similar ilk to Gonzalez, albeit he doesn't have the same punching power. But he is comfortable fighting right inside and at close quarters, lets his hands go with spite and in combinations, has a rock-solid chin and considerable ability to boot, matched with freakish stamina. Could he be the man to push Gonzalez back or beat him to the punch at mid-range? Perhaps not, but if I had my way that'd be Gonzalez's next assignment.

As a bit of a wildcard, South Africa's Zolani Tete recently announced himself to many UK fans with a wonderful showing against former IBF Bantamweight champion Paul Butler, flattening the Brit in the eighth round of their contest having outboxed him for much of the bout beforehand. That fight took place at Super-Flyweight for that division's IBF crown, so like Inoue the South African is 3 lb north of Gonzalez, but with his frame and punching power you'd have to imagine that the man who has cited the legendary Alexis Arguello, by a mile the greatest of all Nicaraguan champions, as his hero could almost certainly handle another jump up in weight.

Gonzalez likes to stay busy and I'd expect him to pad out his schedule with the occasional non-title fight in the coming year, but these kind of fights simply must happen if he wants to legitimately become the number one in the business. In an age where boxing politics mean it's happening less and less, totally cleaning out and fully unifying his division at Flyweight would be fantastic. If he can achieve that as well as bagging a win over someone such as Inoue or Tete at 115 lb, then who could realistically deny his right to be a serious candidate for the top spot?

But whatever the weather, this weekend was a momentous one for boxing. The importance of the shot in the arm that Gonzalez is giving the lower weights can't be overstated, and I'm sure his stock will continue to rise in the coming years. 

By the time he's through, he may well have universal acclaim as being Ricardo Lopez's superior. And same as earlier, you'll have to whisper it - but he may well have it a lot sooner than that.


http://www.v2boxing.co.uk/?preview=false#!Can%20Roman%20Gonzalez%20Make%20History%20As%20Boxing's%20Smallest-ever%20Pound%20For%20Pound%20Number%20One?/c1xmj/555a3e1b0cf2adc1ad3fc4eb

Great article as always.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rq8iKZnRyc - Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0egZe61gqxg - fight

Huge fan of his, lets hope HBO keep backing him, terrific fighter, looks like a better version of Golovkin (Better defence)

Agree with that assessment Boxing
Fan. I hope he fights
Estrada again at some point. Thought he made a good fight of it for the first half.

Can Gonzalez go higher in weight or is this it for him?

Given that it looks like he's going to be getting full big network backing, I would be confident that all of these could be made in time. A regular spot on HBO cards would mean very significant pay days for those prepared to face him.

Think a move to Superfly is on the horizon. There's a couple of fights there in Tete (5"9 Superfly) and the monster in Inoue. If he beats them and in convincing fashion, it would be hard to argue against him being p4p number 2.

Pound for pound is a load of gimmicky rubbish. Gonzales is a great watch though.

Estrada next for me personally then step up and face Inoue, which for a little guy fight would be pretty big.

The Sosa fight contained more action (and probably punches landed) than a certain fiasco the other week. Here's hoping HBO and others really get behind the kid.... He's only early 20s, how exciting is that for the upcoming boxing years?!?

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Think a move to Superfly is on the horizon. There's a couple of fights there in Tete (5"9 Superfly) and the monster in Inoue. If he beats them and in convincing fashion, it would be hard to argue against him being p4p number 2.

Ring now have him at number 2!

god almighty

The Ring have well and truly screwed up that list this time.

RingTv image Floyd Mayweather Jr.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
Country: U.S.
Record: 48-0-0 (26 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 1 | Last Week: 1 | Weeks On List: 191
Title: RING, WBC, WBA jr. middleweight; RING, WBC, WBA, WBO welterweight
1
RingTv image Roman Gonzalez
ROMAN GONZALEZ
Country: Nicaragua
Record: 43-0-0 (37 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 2 | Last Week: 3 | Weeks On List: 49
Title: RING, WBC flyweight
2
RingTv image Wladimir Klitschko
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
Country: Ukraine
Record: 64-3-0 (53 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 2 | Last Week: 2 | Weeks On List: 249
Title: RING, IBF, WBO, WBA heavyweight
3
RingTv image Gennady Golovkin
GENNADY GOLOVKIN
Country: Kazakhstan
Record: 33-0-0 (30 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 4 | Last Week: 7 | Weeks On List: 13
Title: WBA middleweight
4
RingTv image Guillermo Rigondeaux
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX
Country: Cuba
Record: 15-0-0 (10 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 5 | Last Week: 4 | Weeks On List: 90
Title: RING, WBO, WBA jr. featherweight
5
RingTv image Manny Pacquiao
MANNY PACQUIAO
Country: Philippines
Record: 57-6-2 (38 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 6 | Last Week: 5 | Weeks On List: 598
6
RingTv image Carl Froch
CARL FROCH
Country: U.K.
Record: 33-2-0 (24 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 7 | Last Week: 6 | Weeks On List: 74
7
RingTv image Sergey Kovalev
SERGEY KOVALEV
Country: Russia
Record: 27-0-1 (24 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 8 | Last Week: 8 | Weeks On List: 9
Title: WBO, IBF, WBA light heavyweight
8
RingTv image Terence Crawford
TERENCE CRAWFORD
Country: U.S.
Record: 26-0-0 (18 KOs)
Ranking: This Week: 9 | Last Week: 10 | Weeks On List: 2
Title: WBO
9
RingTv image Shinsuke Yamanaka
SHINSUKE YAMANAKA
Country: Japan
Record: 23-0-2 (17 KOs)
Title: WBC bantamweight
10

Bandwagon well and truly in motion

What has GGG done to rank ahead of Rigo.....??

Hope not....Like a lot of fans I go to 122 and then can't be bothered going further down..

Never been a Fly p4p number 1 and I hope we don't start now
..

Our of curiosity, why not?

Just don't think an eight and a half stone short butt who feasts on other half men should be the ultimate fighter in the sport..

Ko magazine stated that Nelson-Mcguigan wasn't a superfight because superfights take place at higher weights..and I kind of agree.

Just my opinion....

Make that 8 stone..

Feasts on other half men?

Everyone fights people in the same weight range as themselves, he's only feasting on them because he's a brilliant fighter.

The PFP number one should be the best fighter, not the best rubbish fans can be bothered to watch. What sort of boxing fan doesn't like watching a highly skilled, exciting fighter regardless of size?

how about making gonzalez, the ounce for ounce (OFO) number 1.

larger weight classifications can keep PFP and Truss can stay happy (relatively)

Far rather watch Gonzalez than the majority of fat, unmotivated, drug-taking, skill-bereft, face-first individuals who have constituted the heavyweight division for the vast majority of its existence over the past 40 years. How many good light-heavyweights have there been since the early 90s? Roy Jones and er, well, um? Middleweight. Hopkins and perhaps Golovkin alone lift the division out of the mediocre over the past quarter of a century? Almost everything worth talking about this century has taken place at 147 or lower. A lot of the very best practitioners of the sport since 2000 have inhabited 122 or lower. Wonjongkam, Donaire, Calderon, Gonzalez etc, etc.

Why does a stone or less make any difference to how we should perceive a fighter's worth? Go back to the start of the 1960s, when the two greatest fighters in the world were probably Pascual Perez (112) and Eder Jofre (118). It's not ridiculous that this should be the case nor is it new. Floyd's on his farewell tour now and it can be argued that on this May morning in 2015, Gonzalez is already the best all-round boxer that the world has to offer.

Fantastic article.

I've been guilty of ignoring the lower weights though magazines like KO (in the 80/90's) probably played a huge part, in the divisions that I focused on.

A friend of mine runs the excellent asianboxing.info website and reading it amazed me at the quality coming out of the far east.

I do believe that Roman Gonzalez can remain undefeated for many years, while facing stellar competition in Estrada, Viloria, Ruenroeng etc.

The divisions from featherweight down are packed with talent and more importantly fights seem easier to make.
The featherweight division is immense at the moment with Walters, Lomachenko, Gradovich, Russell, Selby and tons of quality contenders.

I have Rigondeaux as the best P4P fighter in boxing and I see no reason why Gonzalez won't get to that position, sooner rather than later.

captain carrantuohil wrote:Far rather watch Gonzalez than the majority of fat, unmotivated, drug-taking, skill-bereft, face-first individuals who have constituted the heavyweight division for the vast majority of its existence over the past 40 years. How many good light-heavyweights have there been since the early 90s? Roy Jones and er, well, um? Middleweight. Hopkins and perhaps Golovkin alone lift the division out of the mediocre over the past quarter of a century? Almost everything worth talking about this century has taken place at 147 or lower. A lot of the very best practitioners of the sport since 2000 have inhabited 122 or lower. Wonjongkam, Donaire, Calderon, Gonzalez etc, etc.

Why does a stone or less make any difference to how we should perceive a fighter's worth? Go back to the start of the 1960s, when the two greatest fighters in the world were probably Pascual Perez (112) and Eder Jofre (118). It's not ridiculous that this should be the case nor is it new. Floyd's on his farewell tour now and it can be argued that on this May morning in 2015, Gonzalez is already the best all-round boxer that the world has to offer.

Floyd has just beat the P4P number 3...........

Only p4pers this guy is going to see is on the TV...........

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Hope not....Like a lot of fans I go to 122 and then can't be bothered going further down..

Never been a Fly p4p number 1 and I hope we don't start now
..

So if we had a repeat of a more prime version of Wilde vs Villa sort of level (as in ATG fight) you wouldn't watch?

RG vs Inoue as a massive fight.

And you call yourself a fan? Jesus

Go away...

For my money Flyweight is the best, deepest, most interesting, most exciting and most action packed division in the sport today.

Whilst Gonzalez and Estrada stand out as the #1 and #2 your list of contenders is huge with the likes of-
Ruenroeng
Casimero
Ioka
Reveco
Yodmongkol
Mthalane
Muranaka
Segura (despite his loss to Estrada he's still a very good contender)
Sosa (despite the loss to Gonzalez he's still a very good contender)
Viloria
Tete (the brother of Zolani Tete who iced Paul Butler)
Arroyo
Yodmongkol
Joebert Alvarez (he gave Estrada a VERY tough one despite the scorecards)

For action fighters you could do much, much worse than Koki Eto and Takuya Kogawa.

In terms of prospects there's guys like Stamp Kiatniwat, Ken Shiro, Petchchorhae Kokietgym, Giemel Magramo and Iwan Zoda (who is being tipped as the next Indonesian to shine)

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Go away...

Wish you would.

'Fan' you are not.

Coxy001 wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Go away...

Wish you would.

'Fan' you are not.

Don't go away then..

It is tricky to rate the really little men, to be fair. Not that great a percentage of matured men in the developed world are going to be able to make eight stone or lower, and with some divisions separated by as little as 3 lb it's fair to question the quality of opposition which the champions between Strawweight and Flyweight (perhaps a division or so higher than that, as well) are building their records on. Doesn't disqualify a guy with titles at 105, 108 and 112 from being a pound for pound number one but it sure as hell makes it harder.

I did an article about Ricardo Lopez a while back, as an example. Consensus is that he's a bonafide all-time great. His ability was clearly superb but did he actually beat better opposition that someone like Joe Calzaghe, who doesn't get rated as high in comparison? Not really, for me. He claws back points for having a more complete package of skills and generally being a bit more dominant against his main rivals than someone like Calzaghe was, though.

If those last two factors are big ones in your eyes then Gonzalez has a case right now. He's crushing guys rated at or near the top of his weight classes and is showing different looks and skills in doing so with each passing fight. The downside is that's it's hard to get an accurate gauge on how good his opponents are, but as boxing prospect has said above I do think the little man weight classes are relatively strong right now compared to past eras (I'm still expecting big things from Ioka, for instance). Is there enough quality down there to justfy Gonzalez going to the top of the tree? That's a debate worth having, but there definitely appears to be more quality to work with down there than there would have been if he'd emerged a decade earlier, for instance.

I find it hard to rate Flyweights or guys in or around that weight class all that highly compared to others when it comes to the all-time stakes, so by the letter of the law I'd probably struggle to put Gonzalez right at the very top of the pile as I just can't value his weight classes as highly as others. But if he were to properly clean them out with wins over Ruenorong, Ioka and Inoue then it'd make him a pretty rare case amongst the little men, maybe even a one-off.

People should be kicking sand in his face...........Not giving him P4P honors....

Seriously though I don't enjoy watching Flyweights fight.....never have.

So I'm biased.......

I kind of see what Truss is saying. I can't say I've taken as much notice below 140-7 as over 147 over the years. I think I naturally take more notice of boxers around my size. So for me Super Middle/Light Heavy seem like the norm.

By the same token I'm not that fussed on heavyweights. Although maybe that's down to my age, by the time I got into boxing Lewis, Holy, Tyson were on the wane.

Probably a bit of size bias on my part.

I don't see why not enjoying certain fighters should exclude them from PFP rankings. By that logic Mayweather and Ward wouldn't break the current top 20

P4P is just a bag of nonsense though really isn't it? No point anyone getting their norks in a twist over it.

In an era where belts are meaningless I think perception of PFP is pretty relevant