By Norm Frauenheim-
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Not much has ever separated them. They are equal in skill. They have split two bouts, each winning a decision.
So, it came as no surprise Friday morning when very little again separated Juan Francisco Estrada and Ramon Gonzalez at the official weigh-in at a hotel ballroom next door to the Desert Diamond Arena.
Estrada was at the SuperFly limit, 115-pounds even. Gonzalez was at 114.7. Three ounces, a perfect number for perhaps a perfect Trilogy.
There has been a certain symmetry throughout their rivalry, now a decade long. Hours after the official weigh-in, two of history’s best little-big men performed for a small crowd at a staged weigh-in. Step onto the scale. Step off. Pose, face-to-face, for the cameras
“Outside of the ring, we are colleagues,” Estrada (43-3, 28 KOs) said before another scheduled 12 rounds.
But make no mistake, these colleagues are well-practiced at the art of chaos, which is why an expected crowd of 10,000 and a DAZN audience will be watching at opening bell. The DAZN part of the card is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Arizona time (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET).
They understand why they are here for a third time. Trilogies are built on the expectation that the tension and drama will build from fight to fight.
“The third fight will be even better because we are prepared better than ever before,’’ said Gonzalez (51-3, 41 KOs) a Nicaraguan known worldwide as Chocolatito. “I’m in the best shape of my life.’’
But each fighter’s fitness doesn’t change their birth certificates. Little guys don’t last as long as fighters in the heavier divisions. The flyweight classes are little bit like their namesake. Their life span is shorter.
Estrada and Chocolatito are old. They fought for the first time at 107 3/4 pounds in November 2012. Chocolattito won that one by unanimous decision. A decade later, they are little heavier and a lot older. Estrada is 32, Chocolatito 35.
This third fight might be decided by the fighter whose reflexes and skillset have best resisted time’s inevitability. Time could also continue to make any bout between them hard to judge and harder to pick. It could keep them as even as they’ve ever been.
They know each other like few ever do. Some fighters shadow box. Estrada and Chocolatito box each other.
“That’s why this is going to be the best fight out of all three of them,’’ Estrada said. “The best one will win.’’
