Chocolatito is the Babe Ruth of Boxing.

Is Chocolatito the Greatest Boxer Of All Time?

Roman Gonzalez from Nicaragua is the first boxer in history to win titles in the four lowest weight divisions in boxing (Minimum weight 105) (light Flyweight 108) (Flyweight 112) (Super Flyweight or Junior Bantamweight 115). This Saturday September 15th, after a year layoff and two consecutive loses to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Gonzalez laces up the gloves and makes his comeback on the Canelo/GGG PPV undercard.

Roman Gonzalez’s story is remarkable in more ways then one. Why do we call him the Babe Ruth of boxing? Well, Babe Ruth built the old Yankee Stadium and Gonzalez built the Flyweight division. Because most boxing fans are always looking for exciting boxing bouts with power punching and aggressiveness, the lighter boxing divisions were basically blocked out by the big networks (HBO & SHO). Then comes this guy (Gonzalez) that is destroying everyone he fights usually with exciting KO’s and has this aggressive come forward want to watch approach. Boxing insiders after much deliberation finally sold the idea to HBO to feature this guy. (Remember this is the same network that did not want to televise the best boxer in the world at 122 (Guillermo Rigondeaux) who beat HBO’s golden boy(The Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire) because his defense was so superior it made for boring fights). HBO presented Chocolatiti to the world and he did not disappoint, he was everything he was billed to be and more. No matter how talented, strong and determined the challenger was, it was clear Gonzalez was better. The network continued to push the envolop and have Gonzalez fight naturally bigger fighters and he never backed away from a challenge (much like Manny Pacquiao), he just wanted to be treated fairly and get paid for being the star he was and for taking all the chances of fighting up, yet it fell on deaf ears and he never got paid what he deserved, which often showed during interviews and at other times. If you go back and look at Gonzalez’s face during the ring introductions the night he got knocked out, you knew something was wrong, no focus (just disappointment) his face looked like he didn’t want to be there, like he was sick. Never have I seen a world class boxer getting ready for the fight of his life look so lifeless. No jaw stretching, no leg or arm movements, no warm ups at all. It was very strange to see. Gonzalez fought all the best and schooled them all, he also beat Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in most experts eyes the first fight, but got a bad break from the judges.
After suffering the KO last september, Gonzalez went from #1 on the P4P list to dropping out of the top 10, he went from best in his division to being ranked 5th. Will we ever see the old Chocolatito? I would like to thing so, but in reality, the combination of age, where and tear and that vicious KO (also we don’t know how motivated he is) may have permanently took his name of the top P4P list.

Why is Chocolatito considered one of the best of all time (like Muhammad Ali), instead of the greatest of his generation like (Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather Jr.). First he put the Flyweight Division on the Map with sensational knockouts (just like Babe Ruth dominated the HR scene). Mayweather had De La Hoya before him and Julio Cesar Chavez before that, GGG had Marvin Hagler before him and Sugar Ray Robinson before that, Mike Tyson had Muhammad Ali before him and Joe Louis before that, Chocolate paved his own way, no matter how hard, and got worldwide recognition and agreement he was the best.

Breaking down the boxing divisions:
Prior to 1980 there was no Super Flyweight (115), it was Fly at 112 or Bantam at 118. In 2010 when Gonzalez was champion at minimumweight (105), Rungvisai was already a top contender at 115. In 2011 when Gonzalez won the Light Fly Title (108), Rungvisai was the WBC Asian Super Fly Title holder. As Gonzalez kept moving up to dominate everyone at 108 and then 112, he was pushed to 115 to fight guys clearly bigger then him. (guys like Rungvisai and Naoya Inoue should be fighting guys there own size). Just like Canelo Alvarez is finally fighting guys his own size in the middleweight division instead of squeezing down to 155 and fighting small guys at a catch weight and on fight night hydrating up to 175. Every pound is important and if you don’t think so, ask Juan Manuel Marquez who turned down big money fights over a single pound. A good example of a weight mismatch recently is Vasyl Lomachenko Vs.Guillermo Rigondeaux. Basically, the guys Gonzalez is current fighting are 10 pounds naturally bigger then him.

Until Gonzalez arrived and put the 115 divsion on the map, you could fight a great career and not be known, meanwhile a big heavyweight with no skills can make the airwaves by knocking out a couple of bums.

Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez is everything we want in a boxer and he delivered us great fights. It’s amazing to think with so many countries having great boxing history such as the U.S., Mexico and Japan, the best boxer in history may have been from Nicaragua.

To Honor the Great Roman Gonzalez, The Sweet Science is posting three pictures for this article and the first single boxer picture on this sight.
I look forward to watching Chocolatito box this Saturday in Las Vegas.