Estrada Overcomes Gonzalez in a Great Dallas Firefight; Braekhus Loses Again

The rematch between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez was hyped as a potential Fight of the Year. The hype was more than justified. The little giants went toe-to-toe in a memorable battle and when the smoke cleared, Estrada retained his WBC super flyweight title with a split decision.

This was a rematch.  In their first meeting in November of 2012 in LA, Gonzalez won a unanimous decision, prevailing by scores of 118-110 and 116-112 twice. There were scattered boos when the scores were announced. The fight was closer than that.

Tonight one of the scorecards was also curious. Judge Carlos Sucre, a Miami man born in Venezuela, gave nine rounds to Estrada, the Mexican. The other judges were split: 115-113 and 113-115. In the eyes of many, Nicaragua’s Gonzalez nipped it when he wobbled Estrada in the final frame. Regardless, it was an outstanding fight — boxing at its best.

Estrada, who went to post the favorite at odds of 8/5, is 16-1 since losing to Chocolatito in their first encounter. The loss was inflicted by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (aka Wisaksil Wangek) and he avenged that defeat in a rematch. A rubber match with Rungvisai is likely next on Estrada’s docket.

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In a woman’s bout with all four meaningful welterweight belts on the line, late bloomer Jessica McCaskill turned away revenge-minded Cecilia Braekhus, winning a wide 10-round decision. McCaskill, 36, out-worked Braekhus in their first encounter, winning a popular majority decision to saddle Braekhus with her first loss and end the sport’s longest active title run. Tonight’s fight wasn’t as close – McCaskill prevailed by scores of 100-89, 99-90, and 98-91 – albeit the bout wasn’t nearly as one-sided as the scores would suggest. MsCaskill advanced to 10-2. The 39-year-old Braekhus, who had a point deducted in the seventh round for holding, suffered her second straight loss after opening her career 36-0.

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The 12-round light flyweight contest between Hiroto Kyoguchi and Axel Aragon Vega was a lively contest for as long as it lasted. It ended in the fifth when Vega turned away in pain after landing a punch that plainly broke his right hand. It was the first start outside the Orient for Kyoguchi (14-0, 10 KOs), who was making the fourth defense of the title he won from Hekkie Budler in Macao. The 20-year-old Vega (14-4-1), from Ensenada, was bidding to become the shortest fighter to win a world title since the late South African stalwart Baby Jake Matlala who may have been an inch taller than Vega at 4’10 ½.”

Other Bouts

In an uninteresting swing bout, French-Senagalese junior middleweight Souleymane Cissokho (12-0, 8 KOs) scored a sixth-round stoppage of Mexico’s Daniel Echevarria (21-11). Cissokho, who is co-managed by Anthony Joshua, missed all of 2020 and looked rusty. Echeverria, who came in 12 pounds overweight, has won only two of his last 12 starts.

Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, the 2020 TSS Prospect of the Year, improved to 8-0 (6), but was extended the distance by late sub Denis Douglin (22-8) who was outclassed but never stopped trying. This was a step up in class for “Ammo.” Douglin, who is trained by his mom, is a 12-year pro who had been in the ring with four world title-holders. The scores were 77-5 and 79-73 twice.

The opening bout of the card was an entertaining 8-round contest between featherweights Raymond Ford and Aaron Perez. A 2018 National Golden Gloves champion from Camden, New Jersey, Ford was the house fighter and expected to have an easy test with Albuquerque’s Perez who was undefeated (10-0 coming in) but had defeated only one man with a winning record. But Perez was scrappy and held Ford (8-0-1) to a draw, a well-received verdict albeit the 78-74 tally for the New Mexican was a head-scratcher. The other judges had it 77-75 for Ford and 76-76.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom

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