Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Roman Gonzalez 3 targeted for October 16th

We knew it was coming this fall, and now we’ve got a working date. ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reports that super flyweight rivals Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez are about “80%” through negotiations to meet in an October 16th rubber match.

WBC super flyweight champion Estrada (42-3, 28 KO) and then-WBA champ Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KO) put on one of the year’s best fights in March, a 12-round war that saw them throw an insane 2,529 combined punches. As with so many great battles, however, it was overshadowed by highly questionable scoring that saw Estrada, whom most saw falling just short, take home a split decision on scores of 115-113 and 117-111.

In response, the WBC ordered an immediate rematch, plus another rematch between mandatory challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras to determine who’s next in line. Whoever wins this trilogy match will also be expected to face Joshua Franco at some point.

While Gonzalez should have been free to ride off into the sunset with two wins over “El Gallo,” I’m not opposed to seeing these two run it back. Let’s just hope they didn’t leave everything in the ring last time.