Chocolatito: I am ready to retire

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez looked like a shell of himself Saturday when Srisaket Sor Rungvisai knocked the former four-division world champion out cold in the fourth-round of their rematch in Carson, California. Less than 24 hours after the stunning defeat, which sent him crashing out of the pound-for-pound rankings, Gonzalez, 30, told La Prensa, a Nicaraguan newspaper, that he is “ready to retire.”

“We are close to retiring,” Gonzalez said. “I already did what I had to do. I won four world titles, and I did not spend much time with my family. My children are very small, and they need me.”

Gonzalez (46-2, 38 KO’s) was also down earlier in the fourth with a huge right hand, and was clearly in bad straits, but the Nicaraguan went right back into the fire, and was staring at the ceiling just moments later.

“We were both trading punches, but his were harder, and they landed harder,” he said after the fight. “I was very hurt the second time when I was knocked down, but I think I’ll be okay.”

Although his decision is not official, Gonzalez is going to put the decision in the hands of God and family.

“In the end God decides, but I’m ready to retire from boxing,” he candidly stated. “I’m going to sit with my children. They will make the decision. If one day something bad happens to me, they are the only ones left.”

Gonzalez doesn’t have much of a choice. He is too small for 115 pounds and ruled out a possible return back down to flyweight.

“I cannot make 112,” Gonzalez admitted. “I couldn’t make weight at 112, so I went to 115.”

Regardless of his decision, Gonzalez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and will go down as one of the most exciting fighters of our generation.