Written by: Sean Crose
It was widely agreed that, at 37 years old, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez had passed his time when he stepped into the ring in his native Nicaragua on Friday night. The four-division champion was looking for more glory, this time in the bantamweight division, as he hoped to claim an incredible fifth world title. First, however, the 51-4 Gonzalez will have to get past the 27-5 Rober Barrera in the scheduled 10th round at Polideportivo Alexis Arguello of Managua.
Gonzalez pressured us right away the first time, but it was quickly clear that Barrera had come to fight, as he shot and landed with both hands. Barrera didn't seem as strong as Gonzalez, though. In the second, it looked like the fight wouldn't go the distance, as Gonzalez, moving forward in his classic style, came down and landed hard. Indeed, he began piling punches on Barrera as the round progressed.
Gonzalez landed hard in the first minute of the third. His relentless attacks turned out to be too much for the valiant Barrera, who continued to do everything by shooting his legendary opponent. As the round progressed, the question seemed to be whether Gonzalez's stopping power would carry over to bantamweight, as he makes his first move up from super flyweight.
Things slowed down a bit in the fourth, though Gonzalez continued to search for his man. The action had to stop early in the fifth so Gonzalez could get more tape on his gloves. Barrera got aggressive later, and Gonzalez responded in kind. Barrera went down on a slide, but the fact that it was a slide didn't take away from the fact – Gonzalez was beating him.
Indeed, Gonzalez turned up the heat with 6. Barrera was throwing, but not successfully. Well, to his credit, Barrera kept fighting – even though he kept getting shot in the head. Indeed, it looks like Gonzalez may be about to stop Barrera in the seventh. However, once again, Barrera was able to survive the round. He may have been losing somehow, but no one could argue with the man's grit and courage.
In the eighth, Barrera finally went down. He beat the count, and survived the round, but you had to wonder why the fight was allowed to continue. A series of punches put Barrera down for the second time in the first minute of the ninth. He got back to his feet, but it was time to stop fighting. Indeed, the fight ended with the referee before the final bell at ten.
While it was too early to tell how Gonzalez would handle him at bantamweight, it was clear that the unknown fighter still had enough in him to impress.
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