On Saturday night at the Forum in Inglewood, California, the sport's top pound-for-pound star, Roman Gonzalez, defends his WBC and lineal flyweight title against former amateur world champion McWilliams Arroyo.
This bout is a double-bill with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin's defense against Dominic Wade. Gonzalez and Golovkin have been a routine pairing over the past two years. Saturday night will be the latest episode of the "Big Drama/Little Drama Show."
Tale of the Tape
| Per Boxrec | Roman Gonzalez | McWilliams Arroyo |
| Record: | 44-0, 38 KOs | 16-2, 14 KOs |
| Height: | 5'3" | 5'4" |
| Reach: | 64" | 64" |
| Weight: | 112 lbs | 112 lbs |
| Age: | 28 | 30 |
| Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown: | Managua, Nicaragua | Fajardo, Puerto Rico |
| Rounds: | 193 | 78 |
Roman Gonzalez is two years younger than McWilliams Arroyo, but he's the far more experienced fighter. Arroyo had an extended amateur career and turned pro at 24. Gonzalez was in a professional ring within a month of turning 18.
These two are physically similar, and both men knock out opponents at a high percentage.
Main Storylines
In the wake of Floyd Mayweather's retirement last year, Roman Gonzalez emerged as a consensus pick for boxing's top pound-for-pound star. Both The Ring and The Transnational Boxing Rankings list him in that spot.
Gonzales is an undefeated, three-division world champion. He's also arguably the most exciting fighter in the sport, an offensive wrecking machine with exquisite footwork and relentless flurries.
McWilliams Arroyo would be few fans' choice for Gonzalez's ideal opponent. Most would prefer to see him in a superfight with undefeated Japanese phenom Naoya Inoue, the WBO super flyweight champion. Barring that, a rematch with current WBO and WBAflyweight champion Juan Estrada, who lost to Gonzalez at light flyweight but has been outstanding at 112 pounds, would be a compelling bout.
Strengths
Roman Gonzalez is a brilliant offensive fighter. He cuts off the ring with precise, exact footwork and remains perfectly balanced when unleashing his offensive flurries. He gives an opponent little space to breathe, let alone counter.
While Gonzalez is a relentless, come-forward fighter, he is hardly a reckless gunslinger. His level changes and head movement make him difficult to hit.
McWilliams Arroyo is a well-schooled, intelligent pressure fighter. He uses good head movement and level changes and mixes up his attack to both the body and head. He has solid international experience at the top levels of the sport as both an amateur and pro.
Weaknesses
Roman Gonzalez is 44-0 with 38 KOs and has dominated everybody put in front of him for a decade now. So he's shown little in the way of weakness. I suppose there is a risk of a fighter with his resume growing overconfident, though I don't expect it to be the case for Chocolatito.
McWilliams Arroyo fights in a style that could put him in a lot of danger against Gonzalez. In particular, he has a habit of moving straight back and staying close to the pocket, looking for an opportunity to quickly reassert his attack.
If he hangs out in that sport against Gonzalez, he could find himself swarmed and overwhelmed in quick order.
Roman Gonzalez Will Win If...
Roman Gonzalez should do what he always does in this fight: cut off the ring and break McWilliams Arroyo down with a blistering attack to the body and head. He's been the most successful professional boxer of his generation, so there's no reason for Gonzalez to change things up for this particular fight.
The key here for Gonzalez will be controlling the pace and getting off first with his own punches. But Arroyo is a good offensive fighter, so Gonzalez should be prepared to counter.
Against Amnat Ruenroeng, Arroyo showed a habit of pulling straight back after firing his exchanges, before moving back inside to attack again. If he does this against Gonzalez, look for the champ to press his attack.
Gonzalez has always shown an uncanny ability to stay in the necessary position to deliver his attacks. He not only hurts opponents, but he takes away their own room to counter and limits their ability to think or even breathe.
If he does all of these things Saturday night, he'll record another win and stoppage.
McWilliams Arroyo Will Win If...
McWilliams Arroyo is going to need to fight the best fight of his life Saturday night if he's going to have any chance at all against Roman Gonzalez.
It might seem counterintuitive to suggest going right after a monster like Gonzalez, but I suspect that if McWilliams tries to keep the fight on the outside, it will only be a matter of time before he gets hunted down and slaughtered.
So I think he should look to be aggressive and get off first with his own offense. Arroyo is a solid fighter in close, with a varied punch selection and good head movement and level changes. Against Gonzalez, he should look to be first with his own punches, then break off action, before attacking again.
When Arroyo does break off the action and move back to reset, he must move out at an angle. Gonzalez will be ready to attack him much quicker than a regular fighter, so he can't make it easier by moving straight back.
To stay in the fight with Gonzalez, Arroyo is going to need to be able to control the tempo and pace. He can't do that on a bicycle. He can only do it by fighting.
It's a risky strategy, but fighting Gonzalez is a risky choice to begin with.
Prediction
I hate to be dismissive of a fighter as good as McWilliams Arroyo. But when he's matched up against one as great as Roman Gonzalez, I ultimately have little choice.
Arroyo will show he has heart and skill, but this fight won't look much different than the typical Gonzalez performance. He'll steadily break Arroyo down and then finish him inside of eight rounds.
If Gonzalez is going to remain at flyweight after this bout, he needs to face WBA and WBO champion Juan Francisco Estrada in a unification bout. He does have a win over Estrada, but it was at 108 pounds, a tough cut for Estrada. And Estrada actually has the better resume than Gonzalez at 112 pounds.
But if he's interested in building on his status as an all-time fighter, Gonzalez should move up and fight for a fourth title. A clash with WBOsuper flyweight champion Naoya Inoue would be an internationalsuperfight.