Avila Perspective, Chap. 177 pt. 2: Tagoe, Chocolatito, Fresno and More

Avila Perspective, Chap. 177 pt. 2: Tagoe, Chocolatito, Fresno and More

The sport of boxing has hit another gear.

This is the second week that all major promoters are staging fight cards with the return of Jose Carlos Ramirez, Chocolatito Gonzalez and press conferences for Ryan Garcia, Emmanuel Tagoe, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Errol Spence Jr.

It’s not going to slow down.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Tagoe walked into the Golden Boy building in downtown Los Angeles with his trainer and a fellow fighter from the DiBella Entertainment crew. They were greeted warmly by media members recognizing them.

Later, Tagoe would meet the boss of Golden Boy Promotions and their charge Ryan Garcia who Tagoe will meet on April 9, in San Antonio, Texas. Friendly exchanges took place and it seemed to surprise Tagoe who seemed ready for heated verbal exchanges.

Welcome to the west coast.

Oscar De La Hoya, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, lauded the exploits of Tagoe whose promoter Lou DiBella was unable to make the trip from New York City to L.A. The six-division world champion and Boxing Hall of Fame inductee explained the difficulty of Tagoe’s accomplishments.

After losing his pro debut in Ghana, the African lightweight has fought and won 32 consecutive prize fights including 15 via knockout. Only two of those victories took place outside of Ghana.

But if you know anything about DiBella its that he has a knack for picking up obscure fighters from other countries who can fight. He signed Sergio Martinez a decade ago and he upset many fighters along the way. He also currently has Australia’s George Kambosos who holds most of the lightweight world titles.

Do you see where this is going?

If Ryan Garcia wins, then he constructs an immediate route to Kambosos in a super fight. If Tagoe wins, then he has options too with both fighters under the DiBella banner and with a victory over Garcia comes instant recognition. Either way it’s a big win.

“I see this fight as an opportunity. You don’t know me now but after (the fight) everybody will know me,” said Tagoe. “Nobody would fight me. Ryan Garcia is the one who accepted me when nobody else would.”

Garcia was unable or unwilling to predict an outcome.

“I really don’t care if it’s a hard fight. I don’t take anyone lightly,” said Garcia. “He gots to go.”

Chocolatito in San Diego

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KOs) returns to his adopted home of Southern California and will clash with flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) in a match set at super flyweight for 12 rounds at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Saturday March 5. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

Martinez stepped in for Juan Francisco Estrada who caught Covid-19 and willingly moves up in weight to try his skills against the legendary Nicaraguan fighter. It’s a juicy fight that will quickly reveal how much left remains in Gonzalez and how good Martinez ranks among the best of the best.

“This is one of the most exciting, dangerous pound-for-pound fighters in the sport against one of the absolute all-time legends of the sport,” said Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing. “In a sport that is so difficult to make big fights, I want to say thank you to both men for accepting the challenge and giving us what I believe a fight we will never forget on Saturday night.”

Only two men in the world can claim victories over Chocolatito with Estrada able to accomplish the feat a year ago in Dallas, Texas. The other man is Thailand’s Wisaksil Wangek, aka Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, whatever name you know him by. He stopped Gonzalez twice.

Fans love Chocolatito and its one of the obstacles that Martinez faces. Though plenty of Mexican fans will be in attendance, Chocolatito has earned a place with all fans including Mexicans.

“I have an opponent that comes forward but I’m going to come forward, it’s going to be a tremendous fight and I think the fans are going to be really happy with the fight,” said Chocolatito.

Martinez is part of the Canelo camp in San Diego and is also trained by Eddy Reynoso. He began his pro career with a loss and has not tasted defeat since his debut in October 2015. Incidentally, that was the same time that Chocolatito defeated Brian Viloria at Madison Square Garden in New York City to retain the WBC flyweight title that Martinez now possesses.

“It’s a big challenge, I’m very excited and motivated to be fighting a big legend like Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez. I want to thank him for choosing us in this big fight, like I say with everything but fear, anywhere and against anyone,” said Martinez.

With Chocolatito now at 34 years old and Martinez a mere 27, the age difference could balance out the experience factor that favors the Nicaraguan. We shall see.

“I love all the Mexican people; I’ve had the opportunity to fight against many Mexican people. I know Nicaraguan people are going to come out here and support (me), but the most important thing is we have God on our side,” said Chocolatito.

Mexico versus Puerto Rico Tonight in Fresno

Former unified super lightweight titlist Jose Carlos Ramirez (26-1, 17 KOs) returns to the wars and finds dangerous Jose Pedraza (29-3, 14 KOs) ready to test his mettle tonight in a regional title fight in Fresno, California. ESPN will televise the Top Rank card.

It’s Mexico versus Puerto Rico and that’s serious business.

It’s been nearly a year since Ramirez was defeated by now undisputed super lightweight world champion Josh Taylor. It’s also been that long since he actually fought in the prize ring.

“My goal is to stay at the highest level of competition. My goal is to become a world champion again. You have to fight the best to be ready for those fights. I don’t want any easy fights. I don’t want to be fighting fights that are going to be tune-up fights,” explained Ramirez in accepting a fight with a former world champion as hungry as himself.

Puerto Rico’s Pedraza too is eager to prove himself and to honor his Puerto Rican nationality.

“It would mean a lot becoming champion for a third time. It would put my name along with the legends of Puerto Rico, and it would mean lot for the island, too.”

Whenever a Mexican faces a Puerto Rican you can expect serious fireworks.

Several other top contenders and prospects are also performing including Joet Gonzalez, Hector Tanajara Jr. and Olympian Richard Torrez making his pro debut.

Fights to Watch

Fri. ESPN+ 4:15 p.m. Jose Carlos Ramirez (26-1) vs Jose Pedraza (29-3)

Sat. DAZN 5:30 p.m. Roman Gonzalez (50-3) vs Julio Cesar Martinez (18-1).