Juan Francisco Estrada to return October 17th after bout with COVID

After a 15-day stint of self-isolation following a positive COVID test, WBC super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada tells ESPN Deportes that he’ll return to action on October 17th against either Carlos Cuadras or Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.

“Gallo” (40-3, 27 KO) says he’s “heard nothing” regarding a rubber match with Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, and with Gonzalez reportedly returning in August or September, Cuadras (39-3-1, 27 KO) looks the likeliest candidate. The two first fought in 2017 on the Srisaket-Gonzalez 2 undercard, where Estrada scraped out a trio of 114-113 scorecards on the strength of a 10th-round knockdown. Cuadras would later drop an upset decision to McWilliams and briefly enter rehab for substance abuse, since which he’s won three straight over limited opposition.

Gonzalez has reportedly requested over $1 million to rematch Estrada, who previously said he’d accept a lower payout due to the pandemic but agrees that he and Gonzalez deserve a “good purse.” No matter who he ends up facing, Estrada, who just returned to running with his team yesterday, says he’ll train harder so as not to leave any doubts.