One of the sport’s best modern-day fighters will receive a long overdue homecoming.

The Ring has confirmed that Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez will return to the ring on July 12. The legendary former four-division champion will headline an ESPN Knockout show at Polideportivo Alexis Arguello in his hometown of Managua, Nicaragua.

An opponent was not yet confirmed as this goes to publication. The Ring has learned that the fight will take place just under the bantamweight limit. The event will be presented by All-Star Boxing, Inc. and Teiken Promotions.

News of the bout comes a week after Gonzalez himself teased his future plans.

“A historic fight awaits, in the name of the Lord,” Gonzalez revealed in an April 3 post on X.

Gonzalez (51-4, 41 knockouts) will celebrate his 37th birthday upon his ring return. He last fought in a December 2022 points loss to Juan Francisco Estrada in Glendale, Arizona. Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs), The Ring 115-pound champ, won their thrilling rubber match via majority decision to go up 2-1 in their all-time series.

Estrada won their March 2021 rematch via disputed split decision to defend The Ring 115-pound crown and unify the WBC and WBA titles. Gonzalez won their first fight, more than eight years prior in their epic Nov. 2012 WBA 108-pound title fight.

Neither boxer has fought since their trilogy clash. Estrada is due to defend his Ring crown and WBC title versus Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) on June 29 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Two weeks later, Gonzalez will provide the sport with his long-awaited return.

The event will mark Gonzalez’s 25th career fight at home but his first since February 2015. Gonzalez defeated Valentin Leon via second-round knockout in a non-title fight.

A surefire future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, Gonzalez has won major titles at strawweight, junior flyweight, flyweight and junior bantamweight. His road to three-division title status included The Ring 112-pound championship. Gonzalez dethroned Akira Yaegashi via ninth-round knockout in their September 2014 championship clash in Tokyo, Japan.

Five defenses of The Ring crown came of his 112-pound championship reign before he moved up weight. Gonzalez lifted the WBC 115-pound title from Carlos Cuadras via unanimous decision in September 2016. He lost the belt in his first defense in a twelve-round majority decision to Thailand’s Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. Their March 2017 meeting was as memorable as the outcome was controversial.

Their September 2017 rematch, however, left no doubt. Gonzalez was starched inside of four rounds and would only fight twice in the next two years, both in tune-up affairs.

It led to his fifth title reign, a February 2020 ninth-round knockout of then-unbeaten WBA 115-pound titlist Kal Yafai. Gonzalez made one successful defense before his aforementioned first defeat to Estrada.

Wedged in between his second and third clash with Estrada is a March 2022 points win over Julio Cesar Martinez in San Diego, California.

The date was originally reserved for Gonzalez’s trilogy clash with Estrada, who was forced to withdraw due to Covid illness. Martinez, The Ring’s No. 3-rated flyweight and current WBC titlist, moved up in weight to replace Estrada.

Gonzalez delivered a throwback performance to further arouse interest in his rescheduled clash versus Estrada. While he fell short in their Dec. 2022 meeting, there were immediate calls for a tetralogy.

The timing of their respective returns could heighten those demands.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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