Boxing: Roman Gonzalez to Defend Flyweight Crown Against McWilliams Arroyo

Roman Gonzalez, one of the most frightening punchers in boxing today, will officially defend his WBC flyweight championship on April 23 against McWilliams Arroyo. The showdown will be the co-featured bout of the Gennady Golovki –Dominic Wade middleweight championship, which will be televised on HBO.

Gonzalez (44-0, 38 KOs) is coming off a tremendous performance against former multi-divisional champ Brian Viloria, where he stopped the Hawaiian in the ninth to retain his 112-pound title. “Chocolatito” also captured the WBA version of the junior flyweight and strawweight titles and he expects to continue his reign of terror on the boxing world against Arroyo.

Gonzalez is regarded by many within the sport as the best fighter pound-for-pound and has dominated every foe he’s faced. In Arroyo, the Nicaraguan will take on a very credible opponent, though he hasn’t yet faced the sort of opposition that Gonzalez has.

Arroyo (16-2, 14 KOs) is coming off a TKO of Victor Ruiz last April, but the Puerto Rican fell short in his previous match. He dropped a split decision to Amnat Ruenroeng in September 2014 for the IBF flyweight title. He had won 12 straight into what has thus far been his only world championship bout.

The event will air live on HBO starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The action will come from within the famed Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, Calif., just outside Los Angeles.