WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco ‘El Gallo’ Estrada 40-3 (27) insists he is not overlooking Carlos Cuadras 39-3-1 (27) ahead of their rematch at TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City, Mexico tonight.
The 30-year-old Mexican fought Cuadras in a closely contested battle three years ago, winning the fight by a single point on all three judges’ scorecards.
If Estrada gets past Cuadras and WBA super flyweight champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez defeats Israel Gonzalez on the same card the pair are expected to meet in a unification bout in early 2021. The fight would be a rematch of their clash eight years ago that Gonzalez won on points.
Estrada reflected on his first fight against Cuadras and revealed injuries had plagued his preparation.
“It was a great fight without a doubt, it was very close,” said Estrada. “Carlos was a world champion, he’s not just any opponent, thank God we came out with the victory.
“I learned that in those title fights, in those World title elimination fights, you have to give your all, no matter who the opponent is. I think that in this second fight against him, we’ll show things with more clarity.
“It’s been nearly three years since that fight, I’ve had other fights and you never stop learning.
“We’ve been studying and we’ve watched my first fight with him. More than anything I learned that I have to train at 100 percent. I only trained at 50 or 60 percent for that fight, but I wasn’t fully healthy, I had some injuries and now, thank God, I don’t have any injuries and I’m at 100 percent.
“So, if he wins, he’s better than me, but I really doubt it. I think we’re well prepared both mentally and physically.
“First and foremost, I am focused on getting past Carlos which is the priority. If we both win it looks like there’s a 90 percent chance, we’re going into a fight with Chocolatito.
“It’s already been eight years since the first fight and a lot of people are calling for the rematch, I’m excited for it and I really hope it happens next year.
“I have two other losses and I avenged them both, that’s the only one left to avenge and I hope it happens soon.
“The truth is we’ve both changed a lot, it’s been eight years and I think we’re both really experienced. Now we’re both world champions too, it would be a great unification fight. It was at light flyweight and I was at flyweight at the time I went down for the opportunity for a world title.
“I was 21 years old. I was inexperienced fighting against the best flyweight and pound-for-pound fighter. Now, with the world titles I’ve won, I’ve gained experience and strength.
“I’m at super flyweight, two weight classes higher. I think we’ve both adapted to this weight class, we’ve both won world titles, it would be a better fight than the first. It’s a fight that the people would really enjoy.
“I’m really happy to finally be able to fight after one year and two months. It’s been sad more than anything, because there has been a lot of inactivity, not necessarily for me but for everyone in general. It’s been pretty hard.
“Thank God things are slowly getting back to normal. But there are still people coming out with positive COVID test and we have to take care of ourselves.”
 insists he is not overlooking Carlos Cuadras 39-3-1 (27) ahead of their rematch at TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City, Mexico tonight.){kind=link}