The Contra War in Nicaragua, a bloody affair that claimed tens of thousands of lives in the 1980s, was no place to raise a child. But it produced a warrior, and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez emerged from the devastation to become a success story.

Growing up in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KOs) describes his childhood environment on proboxing-fans.com as “a very humble environment that helped me appreciate what God has given me now through my boxing career.”

“Chocolatito” emerged from the darkest places to cement his name in the history books of the sport to which he decided to dedicate his life.

He built such a legacy after overcoming every challenge in his path, becoming a four-weight world champion and coming back from adversity to regain championship honors.

Although he was a boxing fan, teenage Gonzalez was initially fascinated by football, but his fighting father decided to one day teach him this sweet science.

Once he had his chin tucked in, his fists raised high, and his feet side by side in an orthodox stance, that was it, there was no turning back, the boxing bacteria had seeped into his blood like a leech, but there was nothing to shake or drink away

Like all Nicaraguan fighters, Roman idolized Alexis Arguello. The three-division world champion retired with a record of 77-8, and his bushy mustache adorned posters in boxing gyms across the country.

Gonzalez remembers his first day at the boxing gym vividly as if it were just yesterday: “When I first went to the boxing gym, I met my idol, the greatest boxer in Nicaraguan history, Alexis Arguello.

“I was even more impressed because he spoke to me briefly and then forced me to work on my posture. It was a great moment for me.”

The current WBA “Super” 115-pound world champion watched fighters like Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad with his father, who was a boxer.

Boxing ran through the Gonzalez family veins and from a teenage age it was obvious what “Chocolatito” was destined for.

“It definitely runs in the family, but I enjoyed it because I was beating bigger opponents, which motivated me even more because I could see how proud my family was of me.”

The 33-year-old surpassed the achievements of his idol Arguello by becoming a four-time world heavyweight champion, also becoming the first fighter to do so in the four lightest weight classes.

Gonzalez, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the coming years, hopes to continue to inspire future generations.

“I believe that it is a blessing from God that gave me this talent and it is my duty to do this to the youth be a role model for them, it is a true blessing.”

In a professional career spanning 52 fights, only Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, who also fights on March 13, has defeated Roman, but the Nicaraguan leaves no bitter taste on his tongue as he looks back on his career without regret.

“I wouldn’t change a thing because I believe God’s timing is perfect.

“Everything I have been through has brought me to where I am now, and that makes me joyful, even if I had to go through a lot of difficulties.”

On March 13, Gonzalez will step into the ring against his former opponent, Juan Francisco Estrada, whom he defeated in 2012. This time, both men are world champions, meaning the rematch will be a unification fight and a fight that “Chocolatito” has been wanting for some time now.

“It’s great to be with your team and focus on one of my dream fights, it motivates me to give my all every day.

“I feel blessed to be able to unify the titles against such a great champion and friend. I’ve wanted this fight for a while now, so to get this opportunity is very motivating and I’m training very challenging to shine on this night.”

The victory may have been awarded in 2012, but now, nine years later, the task ahead is much greater. However, if Roman has learned one lesson in his career, it is this: “To never stop learning and to never underestimate your opponent.”

As he nears the end of his career, Gonzalez has already made business investments for his future. Retirement is a word that scares many boxers, but not Roman, who accepts that it is all part of God’s plan.

“I believe that only God knows when I will hang up the gloves, but for now I picture myself working on a farm and in the real estate company I started a few years ago in Nicaragua.

“I believe that everything comes to an end, but only God knows when, and I know that it will eventually come and I will accept it as long as I am sure that I have always given my all.”

Denis Douglin believes Saturday night in Dallas will be a step too far for Austin “Ammo” Williams.

Douglin (22-7, 14 KOs) replaced original opponent Aaron Coley, who was forced to withdraw due to injury, and the American now had the opportunity to face undefeated middleweight prospect Williams (7-0, 6 KOs) on the undercard, with the rematch between super flyweight champions Juan Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez taking place live on DAZN.

The 32-year-old, who has faced the likes of George Groves, Jermell Charlo and David Benavidez in defeat, believes he will have too much experience for the 24-year-old, who is only fighting for the eighth time in his professional career.

“I sparred with Aaron Coley two weeks ago, who was preparing for his fight, and it was a great job,” Douglin said. proboxing-fans.com.

“But I think I hit him with a body shot that hurt him, and I think, I’m not sure, but now I hear he got hurt in sparring, so I think it was me, and he had to pull out of the fight unfortunately.

“But the fight landed in my lap, so I think I created my own fight, man, so it was kind of crazy. They offered me the fight, I said yes right away, and here we are.

“I think he’s a good fighter, he’s undefeated, I hear he’s a good amateur. I think he’s got a lot of good things coming his way.

“I just think I’m a little too much for him now, so I’ll show that it’s there at a certain level. He’s not ready for me yet, maybe next year he would be ready, this year he’s not ready.

“So I’m going to show that he’s bitten him off a little more than he can chew, but like I said, he’s a beast, I feel like he’s going to bounce back, that first loss is the hardest loss, but he’ll get through it.”

“Momma’s Boy” is fighting for the first time since losing a split decision to Mike Guy in November 2019 and was given a two-pound break at Friday’s weigh-in after entering the fight on just one week’s notice, with the bout scheduled for 160 pounds.

The Brooklynite, who plans to move up to middleweight after this fight after having fought at super middleweight throughout his 12-year professional career, is hoping a win over “Ammo” will earn him a rematch with Charlo, as well as a run with former sparring partner Chris Eubank Jr.

“I want to go out there [to the UK] and fight with Chris [Eubank Jr]So hopefully after this fight I can speak recklessly and get Chris to fight me at the O2 Arena,” Douglin added.

“When I was with Chris in camp before the James DeGale fight, we went to war, it was great sparring, we had a great time. Shout out to Chris, he’s a great fighter.

“I want to fight the best, no animosity, no beef, if you’re good, why not fight someone good?

“I think Chris is good, I want to fight Chris who weighs 160 pounds, and then as I move up the ranks I want to fight the best, I want to fight one of the Charlos.

“I fought Jermell back in the day when I was living recklessly, so I want to fight Jermall, beat him, and then fight Jerrell, beat him.”

Douglin, who owns his own gym in Las Vegas and last year took part in late-night sparring sessions with Floyd Mayweather Jr, is adamant about inspiring the next generation of talent and showing that despite seven defeats to his name, he will not let his ambitions deter him.

“I want to be known as one of the best, one of the guys who got knocked down a lot but got back up and kept going and really believed in himself, really believed in his team and made it happen.

“That’s what I’m excited about. It’s a chance to show difficult work, dedication and perseverance.

“For me it’s something deeper than a title or a world record, it’s about being an inspiration to many people, many people call me every day, I get text messages every day, people say: “Your page is inspiring” “Whatever it is”, “you made me go back to dancing, I picked up a basketball again”.

“That’s what I want to do, man, I want to inspire people, so I feel like the best way to inspire is to live, not just talk.

“So I’m proof that if you don’t give up and you don’t give up, you can find a way for yourself, so I’m looking forward to being able to show that.”

The Williams vs. Douglin fight will air live Saturday night on DAZN

Watch the full interview with Denis Douglin below:

Dudelange in Luxembourg will be the venue for an Irish invasion of sorts on March 20th with the Irish boxers coaching as they look to start 2021 on a positive note.

For a town of just under 21,000 inhabitants, Dudelange boasts a wealthy sporting pedigree: 14 Olympians have been born in the region, including Fred Sturmer (middleweight at the 1952 Olympic Games) and Bruno Mattiussi (welterweight at the 1952 Olympic Games).

Kevin Cronin, 2-0, was candid enough to admit he had never heard of the miniature town, but to him it was a place with a boxing ring and that was all that mattered to him.

Speaking to proboxing-fans.com two weeks before fight night, he began by telling us how, on reflection, the pandemic had been a welcome intervention in his rapidly evolving career.

“To be candid, I needed that to be able to take a step back and just look at everything without having to be in the gym all the time, getting ready for the next fight.

– If you had asked me at the beginning [of the pandemic] If I wanted a gap year, I would obviously say no, but it made me hungrier and feel more ready, more determined than ever.

The strange reality for Cronin is that while he hasn’t been able to better his record over the last 18 months, it’s a period in which he’s learned more than ever.

The ‘Kingdom Warrior’, trained by Jonathan Lewin and Patrick O’Brien, revealed he was able to exploit the time to be more reflective in the gym.

“Even though we’re on a break, I’ve been training more, I’ve definitely been sparring more – I’ve had a couple of good 10-round sparrings – so it’s really the best preparation I’ve ever had.

“I know every fighter says that when they get close to a fight, but I was doing different things and pushing myself into uncomfortable places to see how physically fit I was.

“When I had two fights back to back, I felt like I was rushing in the gym and in sparring, so where I didn’t have a solid fight date, I was able to sit down and really look at areas where I could improve.

“[I’ve definitely] I improved my focus and timing in places where I could work a little slower, and I really needed that.”

Indeed, it’s difficult to believe Cronin made his debut almost two years after his soon-to-be third professional fight.

On March 30, 2019, Cronin appeared at the National Stadium in Dublin on a card headlined by Eric Donovan and broadcast nationally on TG4.

Cronin defeated Mateusz Lisiak in four rounds and began his dream life as a professional.

“I think you could say it was a perfect debut, the crowd, the cards, the atmosphere was completely unreal.

“But I’m very difficult on myself and I look at it from the perspective of ‘if only I were in this ring from now on’ and I pick out those little things I’d like to do better.

“It was a really good debut, and as an experience it was really amazing. I made the most of it and I think it showed in the fight.

Even the Kerry County man has to pinch himself that he made his debut “only two years ago” and the featherlight heavyweight felt like a real veteran at that stage.

“I’m confident. I’m recovering really quickly, so I feel like I have a lot more than just two professional fights ahead of me.

“I definitely don’t feel like I’m making my debut next season [from having so long out of the ring] because I see how much I have developed since my first fight.

“It feels like a lot more than two years have passed since my debut, even though I haven’t been particularly busy, because I’ve just learned a lot about myself. It feels more like I’m fighting my tenth fight, not my third!”

Looking ahead to March 20, the on-duty firefighter was bullish about a convincing performance against Vedran Soskan.

“To be candid, I would like to do some sightseeing and implement what I’ve been working on in the gym.

“After such a long layoff, it will feel a bit wasteful if I knock him down in 30 seconds, but at the same time I know I hit difficult and I have the power to get the stoppage. I’m not looking for the finish like I did in my first two fights or rushing my work, but in the back of my mind I think I can stop him.”

Written by Oliver McManus.