Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico), a former two-division world champion and currently ranked No. 2 by the WBC and No. 11 by the WBO at bantamweight with a record of 44 wins (28 KOs) and 4 losses, successfully made weight at 54 kg ahead of his bout in the main event of the Sanfer Promotions card scheduled for June 14 (June 15 Japan time) at the C.U.M. Multi-Purpose Center in Hermosillo, Mexico.
His opponent, Karim Arce (Mexico), the nephew of former five-division world champion Jorge Arce, who holds a record of 21 wins (8 KOs), 2 losses, and 2 draws, also weighed in at 54 kg on the first attempt.
The 35-year-old Estrada is making his return to the ring for the first time in about a year since losing his WBC World Super Flyweight title to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (USA/Teiken), who remains unbeaten at 21-0 (14 KOs), via a seventh-round KO last June in Phoenix, Arizona.
In that fight, which was Estrada’s first in about 17 months, he managed to score a knockdown but ultimately suffered a body shot KO loss. After the bout, Estrada immediately invoked the rematch clause and announced the end of his long-time partnership with trainer Alfredo Caballero.
With plans for a rematch against Rodriguez under a new team, the fight was initially scheduled for late last year. However, it was canceled in September when Estrada decided to move up to bantamweight.
At one point, Estrada was ranked No. 1 by the WBC at bantamweight, but the long layoff led to him being replaced at the top spot by Tenshin Nasukawa (Teiken), who is undefeated at 7-0 (2 KOs).
Now, ahead of his long-awaited bout against Arce, Estrada has expressed his desire to face Rodriguez again at 118 pounds. He is also aiming for a fourth showdown with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (Nicaragua), a former four-division world champion currently ranked No. 1 by the WBO, No. 2 by the WBA and WBC, and No. 8 by the IBF at super flyweight, with a record of 52 wins (42 KOs) and 4 losses.
Estrada, who hopes to defend a world bantamweight title against Rodriguez in the future, stated that a championship clash with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez at bantamweight would be a historic event.
Rodriguez, who has declared his intention to eventually move up in weight, is aiming to unify all four titles at super flyweight. On July 19 (July 20 Japan time), he is set to face undefeated WBO champion Bumelae Kaho (South Africa), who holds a record of 11 wins (8 KOs) and 3 draws, in Frisco, Texas. A potential unification bout with WBA champion Fernando Martinez (Argentina), who is undefeated at 18-0 (9 KOs), is also being anticipated.
Chocolatito, who has announced he plans to retire after two more fights, is scheduled to return to the ring in a non-title bout at a contracted weight of 116 pounds in his home country of Nicaragua before September. He then hopes to challenge for a world title later this year, either at super flyweight or bantamweight.
In the WBC bantamweight division, the title is expected to become vacant as undefeated champion Junto Nakatani (M.T.), with a record of 31 wins (24 KOs), is likely to vacate the belt and move up to super bantamweight. Tenshin Nasukawa is set to compete in the vacant title fight, which is being planned for late November. The leading candidate to face him is the highly ranked Juan Francisco Estrada.
Estrada has also acknowledged the possibility of Nakatani vacating the title and noted that another Japanese fighter is ranked near the top—but he appears completely unfazed and full of confidence. He has expressed his eagerness to return to training immediately after his fight with Arce and hopes to fight again in both September and December.
Meanwhile, the WBC has approved a title eliminator between No. 3 Alejandro Gonzalez (Mexico), who holds a record of 19 wins (11 KOs), 6 losses, and 3 draws, and No. 6 Andrew Cain (UK), who is 14-1 with 12 KOs. Negotiations for this bout are already underway.
All eyes are now on Estrada to see what kind of performance he will deliver in tomorrow’s fight against Arce.
If Junto Nakatani vacates the WBC bantamweight title, a showdown between Estrada and Tenshin Nasukawa for the vacant belt would be next. With potential matchups against Roman Gonzalez and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez also on the horizon, the division is shaping up to become incredibly exciting once again!
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
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