Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada, the WBC and WBA super flyweight world champion, regrets the disgust and discomfort caused by the fact that in a photograph in which he appears with his team, prior to his fight last Saturday against Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the flag of Nicaragua was upside down in the image.
“It was 100% an involuntary mistake, the intention was to make him see that our people, from both sides, are united, that I respect the Nicaraguan people and I am very grateful for the expressions of support and affection that they have given me throughout my career, and how wonderful that they treated me when I went to this country as a guest in 2019,” stated Estrada.
Estrada offered a public apology to the people of Nicaragua, to the press, to “Chocolatito” and his team, and to the authorities of the country, for the situation it created when the photo began to circulate through the social networks.
“For me it was an honor and a great responsibility to carry both flags, that of Mexico for being my country, which I love and of which I am proud of, and the one of Nicaragua, for being the country of my opponent that night and for being a nation of noble, hard-working, honest people, who despite the sporting rivalry with Roman, have always shown me their support and for whom I only have gratitude and respect,” Estrada said.
“This situation, which I regret and to which I reiterate my apologies, was in no way intended to offend the Nicaraguan people, and much less, a lack of respect for their flag… on the contrary, it was in homage and gratitude to their nation. Unfortunately, neither I or my team realized that [Nicaragua’s] national flag was in a bad position, when we took the photograph or when we published it. A heartfelt apology,” Estrada said.