Roman Gonzalez: ‘I never imagined becoming the best pound-for-pound’

[blackrican23]

 

As much as Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s rise to the top of the world’s pound-for-pound rankings seems natural in retrospect, the rise of Nicaragua’s Roman Gonzalez has been quite the opposite.

But if even an American Olympian from an illustrious boxing lineage has to struggle to reach the top of the sport, the likelihood of an unknown, diminutive flyweight from a war-torn Central American country reaching that same level seems nearly impossible.

But lo and behold, it is happening. And judging by the way he has looked in his last few outings, the prediction is that “Chocolatito†is here to stay, even though his humble, soft-spoken nature doesn’t allow him to express his commitment to greatness with the same intensity that he displays in a boxing ring.

“I am very happy. Thank God and my team, today we’re at the top of the pound-for-pound lists in the world,†said Gonzalez (43-0, 37 knockouts), in a telephone interview during a pause in his training in Costa Rica as he gets ready to face Brian Viloria (36-4, 22 KOs) in defense of his RING and WBC flyweight belts as the co-feature to the Gennady Golovkin-David Lemieux middleweight bout in New York City on Oct. 17. “It is one more blessing, and I am thankful to God, because now my effort has been worth it.â€

The three-division champion previously occupied the No. 2 spot in THE RING’s pound-for-pound ratings, but Mayweather’s retirement opened up the possibility for him to become the first Nicaraguan and the first 112-pounder to be considered the best fighter in the world during his active career. It’s a distinction that perhaps even surpasses his former trainer, mentor and fellow multi-division champion, the late, great Alexis Arguello.

“I never imagined becoming the best pound-for-pound, but the struggles I had to face with my family and with Alexis inspired me. They never abandoned me during this process,†said Gonzalez, who was trained by Arguello as an amateur and who remained close to the legendary champion until his death in 2009. “I never imagined being three times world champion and now being named the best in the world. All this inspires me to continue fighting with all my strength.â€

His duty to carry on the legacy of Arguello means that he’ll be regarded as the face of Nicaraguan boxing at least at the same level as his illustrious predecessor, a task that Gonzalez claims to cherish.

“Today I am the only champion that Nicaragua has, and I hope to motivate young people to believe and fight, and become a motivation for them,†said Gonzalez. “In Nicaragua everything is harder, and I want to be their motivation. Today, more than ever, we have to be in the gym working as hard as possible.â€

The only reward he would hope to have for all his troubles, unfortunately, is the one wish that destiny could not fulfill for him. But keeping his mentor and friend in his heart in this special moment in life is something that not even death can take away from him.

“One of the things that I would love to do is to have Alexis by my side,†said Gonzalez, his voice softening and breaking even more than usual. “He was a great man and a great champion, who left me his humility and his legacy. And I want to continue with Arguello’s legacy. I wish he was alive right now to see this.â€

 

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/399611-roman-gonzalez-i-never-imagined-becoming-the-best-pound-for-pound