Roman Gonzalez Feels Blessed To Win Over The U.S. Fans

By Thomas Gerbasi

Before the connection from Big Bear, California was lost, Roman Gonzalez gave a statement that would have been a mic drop from anyone else other than the soft-spoken “Chocolatito,” and the fact that the phone went dead after manager Carlos Blandon translated his response only made it better.

The question was an obvious one to someone who has been perfect thus far, winning 45 of 45 pro bouts, 38 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Did he feel tested yet or ever in a fight that he had a moment – however fleeting – that maybe that 0 was going to become a 1?

“No, not until this moment, not yet.”

There was no hesitation from translation to response, no moment to think about the fights in which he traveled far from his home in Managua to win world titles in three weight classes against the best those divisions had to offer. In each of those fights, the 29-year-old was confidently in control – physically and mentally – from start to finish.

It’s why Gonzalez is on the top of the mythical pound-for-pound list, as well as headlining his own HBO-televised show at the Forum in Inglewood, California when he challenges Carlos Cuadras for the WBC junior bantamweight title on Saturday.

It’s a remarkable set of accomplishments for a 115-pound fighter who doesn’t speak English. Yet to boxing fans in the United States, none of that matters. And Gonzalez appreciates it.

“I feel happy with all the U.S. fans and everybody here in America,” he said. “It’s a great blessing, and maybe it’s been because they like my style of boxing. But whatever it is, I feel so blessed to have them on my side.”

That’s probably the secret right there. For such a talented boxer, a clinical destroyer with a flair for the dramatic, Gonzalez saves his intensity for the ring. Outside of it, he is your average family man just trying to make a living. The only difference is that his day job involves leaving his two children behind in order to do so. Yet the loneliness of the road gives him his greatest strength.

“I believe that’s what made me get to the top,” he said. “That motivation of training hard, of sacrificing, of knowing that it’s taking a toll on you, that’s what makes you want to train harder to win the fights and to be able to be where I am.”

This time around for camp, it was Big Bear, where he spent plenty of time around middleweight king Gennady Golovkin and GGG’s coach Abel Sanchez as he worked with his own coach Arnulfo Obando.

“I’ve had camps in Indio, California already, in Costa Rica, in Japan, and I always dreamed about coming to The Summit, where all the champions have trained, even more so training alongside GGG.”

Gonzalez and Golovkin are linked at the top of the sport at the moment, and that’s a great thing for boxing. Not only are they true world champions who actually fight and defend their crowns, but they are great ambassadors as well. That’s good news to Gonzalez, because it means he’s following the same path of his mentor, the late, great Alexis Arguello.

“That’s the legacy I’m trying to accomplish, to be able to be a gentleman in and out of the ring,” he said. “It comes natural when you’ve been trained by your hero.”

Gonzalez will be dedicating this weekend’s bout to Arguello, as he looks to win his fourth world title, the first time a Nicaraguan fighter has done so. That’s not good PR copy either. It’s from the heart.

“He was a great person and I learned so much from him, and not just as a boxer, but also as a Nicaraguan and as a human being,” Gonzalez said of Arguello. “Just to hear his name, I get goosebumps.”