WBC Orders Estrada-Sor Rungvisai; Chocolatito Rematch Might Have to Wait

By Carlos Costa

BANGKOK, Thailand — Further to the sensational victory of Mexican 115-pound king Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada over tough and game former champ Carlos “El Principe” Cuadras two Saturdays ago, the WBC has just ordered Estrada to make a mandatory defense of his green ‘n golden super flyweight belt against Thailand warrior WBC # 1 challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

The Estrada-Sor Rungvisai battle would take place next year, although boxing fans have been wanting to see “El Gallo” Estrada unifying super flyweight belts in a thrilling blockbuster rematch against WBA star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez next. It now seems that Estrada-Chocolatito might have to wait.

That’s because the WBC has already officially ordered free negotiations to unfold for Estrada-Sor Rungvisai 3, informing all relevant parties, including Team Estrada, Team Sor Rungvisai as well as British promotion company Matchroom Promotions.

If no agreement for Estrada vs Sor Rungvisai 3 could be reached within the next 30 days, an official purse bid would be held on Tuesday, December 1, at the WBC head office in Ciudad de Mexico.

“I am super happy and excited to hear about this,” said Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (49-5-1, 42 KO’s) here in Thailand.

“I would like to thank the President Mauricio Sulaiman and the WBC Championships Committee for ordering this mandatory fight of Estrada against me to happen next, as promised. Now I will dedicate my whole life to this fight to make the president and WBC proud.

“Really, I have been waiting for this fight since the day I lost my title to Estrada last year; and I am confident that I will get it back to become a 3-time WBC world champion. I have set this goal inside my head: to take the WBC world title strap back to Thailand.”

The clash between Juan Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai would be the 3rd rumble between the two fantastic power-punching warriors, after each one has a win over the other in their previous two encounters.

In their first battle, the Thailander Sor Rungvisai edged a majority decision win over “El Gallo” for a successful title defense at the Forum in early 2018.

In their rematch last year, Estrada returned the favor by claiming a unanimous decision victory over the Thai slugger with the three judges scoring close in favor of the skilled Mexican from Hermosillo, Sonora; and who would win their 3rd battle?

The momentum seems to be 100% on the side of the talented 30-year-old Mexican, though in boxing anything can happen.

Importantly, during its online convention last August, the WBC had already ordered Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada to make his mandatory defense against Sor Rungvisai immediately after one voluntary defense.

That voluntary riveting defense unfolded against Carlos “El Principe” Cuadras (39-4-1, 27 KO’s) last October 23rd in Ciudad de Mexico. It was an unforgettable hot and thrilling fan-friendly war in which “El Gallo” Estrada dropped and rocked the brave “Principe” Cuadras, overpowering him for an awesome TKO at the 2:22 minute mark in chapter eleven.

Then, right after the sizzling clash, El Gallo Estrada (41-3, 28 KO’s), together with his fellow world champion Nicaraguan star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (50-2, 41 KO’s) appeared together in a Zanfer Promotions video, warmly congratulating each other for their wins while promising their fans that they are willing to fight each other in a unification rumble in 2021.

However, the WBC order points to somewhere else. The long-awaited Estrada vs Chocolatito rematch with eight years in the making might have to wait a bit longer. Let’s find out what happens next.

The author Carlos Costa is a boxing writer based in Asia, can be reached at carlos512@hotmail.com or whatsapp +639184538152