Booking The Territory: Saying Goodbye to Chocolatito
- Matthew Brown
- Sep 12
- 2 min read
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez returns home tonight, lacing up the gloves once again in his native Nicaragua to face Hector Robles. It’s his first bout of 2025 and his first appearance since last July, when he scored a vintage TKO victory over Rober Barrera. For more than two decades, Gonzalez has given everything to boxing—capturing world titles in four weight classes and carving out a legacy that will one day land him in the Hall of Fame.
But time waits for no fighter. As the final chapters of his legendary career are written, fans know there are only a handful of chances left to see a master at work.
Brunch Boxing dives into the possibilities for the final stages of Chocolatito’s journey, as we “book the territory” before the legend hangs up the gloves for good.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez: The Prodigy Turned Peer
The unified super flyweight champion and once-protégé of Gonzalez, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, has already taken down the rest of the Hardcore Four (Juan Francisco Estrada, Carlos Cuadras, and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai). For years, Rodriguez and promoter Eddie Hearn showed little interest in pitting the student against the teacher. But with Rodriguez having cleared out the division’s other icons, the story of mentor versus pupil now feels inevitable. A showdown would be a symbolic passing of the torch and a fitting way for Gonzalez to measure himself against the next generation.
Takuma Inoue: A Family Grudge, By Proxy
While Chocolatito never crossed paths with Naoya Inoue, the “Monster” who reigns as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound kings, a clash with Naoya’s brother Takuma offers a built-in narrative. Takuma stepping into the ring with Gonzalez would give him the chance to do something his more famous sibling never did: test himself against the Nicaraguan legend. For Chocolatito, it’s a fight dripping with intrigue. It’s one last chance to show he can still conquer the Inoue family name, even if not the brother most fans expected.
Nonito Donaire: Legends Collide
Few matchups make more sense for a farewell than Roman Gonzalez vs. Nonito Donaire. For two years, the legends of the lower weight classes have orbited each other without ever sharing the same ring. Talks have come close, but the stars never fully aligned. Both men are future Hall of Famers, both still active, and both driven by legacy. Donaire is rumored to be returning to the ring in Japan this December, meaning a showdown could materialize in 2026.
Rachel Donaire, Nonito’s manager and trainer, told Brunch Boxing:
“We were always open to a fight like that. We’ve always thought it’s a good fight for the both of them, but we’re not willing to put our career on hold for a second time for them. When they’re ready, and we’re all in agreement, we will talk.”
This is a fight that would define an era: a meeting of two all-time greats finally sharing the spotlight before their careers close.
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