Posted on 03/15/2021
By: Hans Themistode
Roman Gonzalez didn’t want to sound like a sore loser immediately after. The future Hall of Famer respects the judge’s decision to hand the victory to Juan Francisco Estrada this past weekend but he vehemently disagrees with the result.
Both Estrada and Gonzalez battled it out at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas, in front of a sparse crowd. Those who were watching were mostly acrimonious as Estrada was given the split decision victory.
For Gonzalez, he could care less about the official decision this weekend, much like their first contest in which Gonzalez was handed the win, he believes he’s 2-0 against his long-time rival.
“I won both of them. It was a better fight than the first one,” said Gonzalez to DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “I felt strong, and I felt I won. In the last round, I gave it all. It was a great round. The result is what God wanted. And I’m happy because I’m going back home to see my family.”
As things currently stand, Gonzalez isn’t the only one who believes he should have won, or, at the very least, should have been handed a closer decision loss. WBA President Gilberto Mendoza Jr. suspended judge Carlos Sucre while an evaluation of his performance is currently being conducted.
While the remaining two judges scored the bout 115-113 for Estrada and 115-113 for Gonzalez, Sucre saw things completely differently and handed Estrada the win with a lopsided scorecard of 117-111.
Nevertheless, Gonzalez believes that much like his first contest against Estrada in 2012 that went his way, that he should have been given the nod once again.
Not one to dwell on the past however, Gonzalez has chosen to look at the bright side. Reviews from their contest have come in and by all accounts, it was an overwhelming success.
Although he could push forward and pursued an immediate rematch, Gonzalez has ultimately left the ball in Estrada’s court. Whichever direction his long-time rival decides to go in is alright by him.
“Whatever [Estrada] wants, we’ll do it. I’m very happy with my performance and the crowd enjoyed the fight.”