Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez’s pain is Tomoya Tsuboi’s gain.
Gonzalez, a future Hall of Famer and former four-division titleholder, had been ranked No. 1 by the WBC at 115lbs despite a lack of notable activity in the weight class in recent years.
Gonzalez had lost his rubber match with Juan Francisco Estrada in December 2022, defeated the 17-5 Rober Barrera at bantamweight in July 2024 and outpointed the 13-8-3 Hector Robles in an over-the-limit junior bantamweight bout this past September.
But in the WBC’s latest ratings update, released on February 3, Gonzalez is listed as “not available” for medical reasons. According to Fightnews, the 38-year-old was scheduled for surgery at the end of last month to repair “an old injury to his left shoulder.”
Gonzalez’s absence allowed the previous No. 2, Tsuboi, to advance to the first spot. Tsuboi is 3-0 (2 KOs). The 29-year-old turned pro last year, wrapping up his 2025 by sending former titleholder Carlos Cuadras into retirement with an eighth-round TKO.
The WBC junior bantamweight titleholder is Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, who also has the WBA and WBO belts and is the lineal and Ring Magazine champion.
Tsuboi is followed in the WBC’s ratings at 115lbs by Kenshiro Teraji, Ricardo Malajika, Fernando Martinez, Seigo Yuri Akui, Andrew Moloney, Yahir Frank, Phumelele Cafu, Pedro Guevara, Israel Gonzalez, John Ramirez, Charlie Edwards, Kenta Nakagawa, Ari Bonilla and Theophilous Kpakpo Allotey.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
