Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez dialed-in for McWilliams Arroyo clash

'Chocolatito' currently sits atop many pound-for-pound lists, but he's certainly not looking to rest on his laurels. In fact, Gonzalez (44-0, 38 KOs) is so focused on his upcoming title defense against McWilliams Arroyo (16-2, 14 KOs) that he's absconded to Costa Rica for this training camp -- far away from any distractions he might face being a hometown hero in Managua, Nicaragua.

"Moving camp to Costa Rica at this time makes sense," Gonzalez said through a translator. "The sparring there is better, and the location allows me to completely focus on the fight without any distractions. The distinction of being the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter is a great honor. I hope to continue to please the fans and media with my performances."

Gonzalez will be taking on Puerto Rico's Arroyo the April 23rd HBO card, once again paired with Gennady Golovkin who will be taking on Dominic Wade in the headlined co-feature.

Arroyo is just one fight removed from his last title shot against which came against Amnat Ruenroeng in September 2014. In that fight Arroyo put Ruenroeng down in the sixth round, only to lose a questionable split decision on Ruenroeng's home turf. Since then he went on to stop Victor Ruiz in the third round in April of last year.

"This is a big opportunity for Arroyo," Gonzalez said. "He feels like he should already be champion from his close, split decision loss to Amnat Ruenroeng, and I know how strong and well-prepared he will be for this fight. This is a big test and very important fight for me."

Gonzalez himself is most recently coming off a ninth round TKO win over Brian Viloria last October, marking his tenth consecutive knockout.