Roman Gonzalez, right, of Nicaragua lands a left punch to the face of Brian Viloria in the eighth round of an WBC flyweight title bout at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Gonzalez won the fight. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is not the current No.1 pound-for-pound fighter for nothing.
Brian Viloria, who has faced the best boxing has to offer since he turned pro in 2001, could attest to Gonzalez’s lofty status after losing to him in a ninth round stoppage in their world title fight last Sunday (Manila time) at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
READ: Viloria loses world title fight to Gonzalez via TKO
“Roman is the number one. He’s most certainly there for a reason. He’s an accurate fighter with a great defense. He’s without a doubt the best fighter I’ve ever faced,” Viloria said in an interview with boxingscene.com.
Viloria, a former unified flyweight champion and WBC and IBF light flyweight titleholder, is no slouch but was just simply overmatched by Gonzalez, who extended his undefeated run to 44-0 with 38 knockouts.
READ: Filipinos sweep Pinoy Pride 33; Nietes eyes ‘Chocolatito’
The 28-year-old Nicaraguan, who also snapped Viloria’s four-fight winning streak, is being eyed by another Filipino in WBO light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes as a possible opponent.