Former junior bantamweight champ Srisaket Sor Rungvisai returns to the ring tonight in Thailand, and he’s not only got his mind on that fight, but on the Estrada-Chocolatito rematch coming Saturday.
Rungvisai (49-5-1, 42 KO) says he’s not overlooking opponent Kwanthai Sithmorseng, but he’s expected to win and feels he will do so impressively, setting up a trilogy bout against either Juan Francisco Estrada (41-3, 28 KO) or Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KO).
Rungvisai beat Gonzalez in back-to-back fights in 2017, once with controversy and once completely without, and split a pair of fights with Estrada in 2018 and 2019. If he had his choice, Rungvisai says he’d like to settle things with the Mexican.
“I would pick Estrada because it’s 1-1 now between us, but Chocolatito is also a pound-for-pound star and I would be happy to fight him next if that’s the case. I am ready to fight either,” he said. “Their first fight was very competitive. Ultimately, I think it will come down to their preparation and the fighter with the best conditioning will be victorious.”
Looking back on his past fights with the pair, Rungivsai said, “Chocolatito at the time was the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. I prepared very well for both of those fights and it was great to beat him twice. Both of those fights were extremely entertaining. If I am to fight him next for a third time, I will beat him and become a three-time world champion.
“The second fight against Estrada was very close. I do accept the judges favored Estrada, but if I am to fight him again for a trilogy, I will beat him with no doubt.”
Rungvisai also believes that these top fighters facing each other in recent years has been good for the division, and he’s right.
“I do respect both of them. They are legends and pound-for-pound world stars,” he said. “It’s great for the division to have so many stars like Chocolatito, Estrada, and I include myself in that. If the best fight the best it can elevate the 115-pound division to become a popular weight class.”
We’ll have live coverage for Rungvisai-Sithmorseng starting tonight at 9:30 pm ET, and for Estrada-Chocolatito 2 on Saturday night starting at 8 pm ET.