The Last Chance Saloon in boxing’s wild west has seen many a fighter overstay their welcome. One more becomes one too many and then they either leave or are carried out.
Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez took his stool in 2017 after Srisaket Sor Rungvisai dropped him twice in round four of their second duel together. Tired, beaten, weary and at 30-years-old Gonzalez lay on the canvas with the end of his boxing career hovering over him.
Four years later the Nicaraguan’s place in the Saloon is for someone else to take. Since that shattering night in Carson against Rungvisai four opponents from five have been no match for Gonzalez. Juan Francisco Estrada got the better of him in an action-packed shootout last year but last night in San Diego Julio Cesar Martinez became the fifth man to bring inferior weapons to a gunfight with ‘Chocolatito’ (51-3, 41 KOs).
The Mexican (18-2, 14 KOs) attempted to moved up in weight to join his opponent in a super-flyweight division where danger lurks no matter where you look. Martinez believed he could take advantage of his elder statesman and prove that youth, aggression, and power could overcome the noble art in all its beauty. Instead, Gonzalez used the canvas to paint his latest masterpiece.
The 27-year-old Mexican landed a left hook early in the opening round and looked for uppercuts through the guard. Overpowering the senior figure early and forcing him to wilt looked like a plan but Gonzalez has seen the alphabet of them and weathered a very brief storm.
After Martinez failed to make the weight limit on Friday Gonzalez laid out his intentions by going after that body with punches that would take their toll late in the fight. A veteran move against a younger man still learning his trade even at his status of world champion.
Throughout the 12 rounds Martinez had no problem meeting the Nicaraguan phenom head on and firing at will. His shots were loaded and landed heavily but if the gloves didn’t do their job, then the chin of Gonzalez had no issue absorbing them.
Gonzalez had so much to draw on. His defensive skills so instinctive and made to look so easy then came the stinging shots that would turn the face of Martinez left and right on multiple occasions. The 34-year-old was always the fresher while the 27-year-old looked to be getting older minute by minute.
In round six Martinez began banging his gloves together. What was happening to him was not what he envisaged or had been laid out in the plans and tactics drawn up in the build-up. At the halfway stage a King was showing a Prince what it takes to claim the throne.
As time counted down the manly art of no defence became a tactic for the tough Mexican. A country that has a relationship with the sport like no other has always produced chins that can take the type of punishment that shouldn’t be humanly possible. The gunfire of Gonzalez was coming quicker and quicker. Martinez believed he was bulletproof, but the shots were penetrative, and the body armour was failing.
Gonzalez turned his ones and twos into threes and fours. His confidence never turned to arrogance. It was professionalism that would not allow for a mistake to creep through which would see him back in the Saloon. Martinez tried to get himself going again in the final few rounds. The bouncing on the toes were brief, his movement slowed more and more. He was getting picked apart but acts of defiance gave the pro-Mexican crowd something to cheer about.
Victory for Gonzalez was inevitable. When the smell of it reached him, he knew to put the foot down without being gung-ho. Martinez would not go down though. He stood up to the barrage of shots that rattled him from head to body and back again. His fatigue in the final minutes was a signal for the fight to be ended but that’s not how Mexican fighters end matters in a boxing ring. In fact, the flyweight champion went toe-to-toe in the remaining seconds. One last act before the ending was confirmed. The result never looked in doubt from early on and scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 gave ‘Chocolatito’ his 51st win from a career of 54 fights spanning nearly 17 years.
The WBC Diamond belt was only on the line for Gonzalez after the weight failure from Martinez. A belt that may look shiny and pretty but does little to enhance the reputation or standing of a fighter that is already an all-time great of the sport.
Roman ‘Chocolatito’ is a jewel of the sport, however, and on last night’s evidence it proves that some diamonds are forever.