The rubber match between junior bantamweights Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada has a finalized date.

Gonzalez and Estrada will square off on March 5 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California and will likely stream live on DAZN. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger announced the fight Thursday, but Keith Idec from Boxingscene first reported the fight through sources two weeks ago.

Estrada’s Ring Magazine championship and WBA title will be on the line.

The first two fights between Gonzalez and Estrada have thrilled fans. Their first clash took place in November 2012, with Gonzalez winning by unanimous decision in a fight Estrada rallied late, but fell short. Estrada dropped down from flyweight to unsuccessfully challenge for Gonzalez’s then-WBA junior flyweight world title.

The two squared off in an epic rematch on March 13 of last year, which Estrada won by a close split-decision in a fight a majority of ringside media thought Gonzalez won. Estrada also successfully defended the WBC title with the win over Gonzalez in their unification fight.

Estrada (42-3, 28 knockouts), who resides in Hermosillo, Mexico, has won his last six fights since losing by majority decision to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in February 2018. Estrada avenged the loss to Sor Rungvisai by defeating him 14 months later by unanimous decision with both fights taking place at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

The 31-year-old was a two-time world titleholder at 112 pounds, defeating the likes of Brian Viloria, Giovani Segura, Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez, and Carlos Cuadras (twice).

Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KOs), who resides in Managua, Nicaragua, was thought to be washed up after losing back-to-back fights to Sor Rungvisai in 2017. After stopping Moises Fuentes and Diomel Diocos in subsequent fights, Gonzalez challenged then-WBA junior bantamweight titleholder Khalid Yafai in February 2020, dropping him twice before winning by knockout in round 9.

The 34-year-old made a successful defense of the WBA title on October 23 of that year, defeating Mexico’s Israel Gonzalez by unanimous decision.

Gonzalez, who now trains in Indio, California, has won world title belts in four different weight classes (105, 108, 112, and 115 pounds).

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @FSalazarBoxing