Juan Francisco Estrada Romero (born April 14, 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super flyweight title between 2022 and 2024 and The Ring super flyweight title between 2019 and 2024. He previously held the WBA (Unified) and WBO flyweight titles between 2012 and 2015, and the WBC super flyweight title in March 2021 and the WBA (Super) title from March 2021 to August 2022.
Early life Estrada lost his parents at the age of 7. He was raised by his aunt, and picked up boxing when he was 9. At the age of 15, Estrada moved from his native Puerto Peñasco to Hermosillo to focus on his boxing career.
Amateur career As an amateur, Estrada compiled a 94–4 record.
Professional career Early career Estrada made his professional debut on August 30, 2008, at the age of 18. Estrada won his first regional belt 2 years later, in October 2010. He defeated Manuel Almendariz by TKO for the WBC Mundo Hispano super flyweight belt. Estrada suffered his first loss against Juan Carlos Sánchez, Jr. in May 2011. Sánchez stands at 5 ft 8, giving him a significant size advantage over most flyweights. Estrada traded knockdowns with Sánchez but he lost the 8-round bout by unanimous decision.
Campeón Azteca Later that year, Estrada participated in the boxing reality show Campeón Azteca: Round 3 that took place between September and December 2011 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The show featured 16 super flyweight fighters competing in an elimination tournament. Estrada won his first fight by unanimous decision (60-54, 60–54, 60–54) against fellow prospect Ivan Diaz. In his second fight in the tournament, Estrada stopped veteran Juan Carlos Tirado in the second round. Estrada won one more fight against Luis May to qualify to the competition's final.
In the competition's final bout, Estrada would face Sánchez Jr. once again. Estrada went down in the second round after a left straight from Sánchez. Later on, with both fighters trading punches in the final round, Sánchez was rocked by a left hook from Estrada. Estrada continued throwing combinations and eventually scored a knockdown over Sánchez. Sánchez attempted to get up but the referee waived the count, giving Estrada the win by TKO with 1:02 elapsed in the tenth and final round. Both Estrada and Sánchez would go on to become world champions.
Estrada vs. González On November 17, 2012, Estrada moved down from his natural division to challenge WBA light flyweight champion Román González. This was Estrada's first fight outside his native Mexico. He lost a unanimous decision (112-116, 112–116, 110–118) to González, the future number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter. González would later say that he was interested in a rematch against Estrada after one of his successful flyweight world title defenses.
Unified flyweight champion Estrada vs. Viloria On April 6, 2013, Estrada once again challenged for a world title, fighting Brian Viloria at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China, for the WBA (Super) and WBO Flyweight titles. Viloria had unified his titles against Hernán Márquez on the same event in which Gónzalez defeated Estrada. Estrada appeared to lose the early rounds against Viloria, but he would surge on the latter rounds, landing combinations that gave him the edge. Estrada won by split decision (117-111, 116–111, 113–115), thus becoming the new unified champion. Although, observers of the fight felt that the victory should have been ruled a unanimous decision in favor of Estrada.
Various defenses In his first defense, he defeated number one ranked challenger and future champion Milan Melindo by unanimous decision (118-109, 118–109, 117–109). Melindo was knocked down in round 11, as Estrada cruised to a shutout win. Estrada would fight three times in 2014, scoring victories over Richie Mepranum, former champion Giovani Segura, and Jobert Alvarez in a non-title fight. In 2015, he added two additional title defenses, against Rommel Asenjo and former champion Hernán Márquez. He then took a break from boxing to undergo surgery on his right hand. During Estrada's reign as a flyweight champion he became known for his refined technique and accurate punching.
Super flyweight Following years as unified flyweight champion and five titles defenses, Estrada vacated his titles in September 2016 to campaign in the super flyweight division. Estrada said that he could no longer make the flyweight 112 lbs limit. After spending a year away from the ring, Estrada came back against gatekeeper Raymond Tabugon in October 2016 in his native Puerto Peñasco. Estrada won an easy unanimous decision (100-90, 100–90, 100–90).
Estrada vs. Cuadras In June 2017, it was revealed that Estrada would face Carlos Cuadras. Following Srisaket Sor Rungvisai's unanimous decision win over Román González, Cuadras was the mandatory challenger for Sor Rungvisai, the World Boxing Council's champion. However, the WBC ordered a rematch between Sor Rungvisai and González in light of the controversy around the González-Sor Rungvisai decision. Estrada himself was also a mandatory challenger to the WBO super flyweight champion Naoya Inoue, and Inoue was eager to face Estrada. But Estrada declined the fight and decided to go the WBC route. Cuadras then had to face Estrada, the next available ranked contender. The fight was scheduled for the Sor Rungvisai-González undercard on September 9, 2017, at Carson's StubHub Center.
On fight night, Cuadras seemed to gain the upper hand in the early rounds, switch-hitting and throwing and landing more punches. Nevertheless, Estrada was able to slowly impose his methodical style in the second half of the fight, even dropping Cuadras in round 11. Michael Buffer incorrectly announced "Carlos Estrada" as the winner of the fight, but after some confusion he corrected his mistake, giving Juan Francisco Estrada the win by unanimous decision (114-113, 114–113, 114–113).
Estrada vs Sor Rungvisai In February 2018, Estrada who was ranked #1 by the WBC at super flyweight, challenged Srisaket Sor Rungvisai for the WBC and The Ring super flyweight titles. Estrada boxed well at times, and managed to connect multiple times on Rungvisai, who was able to take Estrada's best shots. Estrada too, was getting hit often by Rungvisai, but was able to take the champion's power. In the twelfth round, Estrada, perhaps sensing he is need of a knockout to win, fought aggressively. In the end, it was not enough, as Estrada fell short of winning his first world title at super flyweight, as two of the judges saw Rungvisai as the winner, scoring it 117-111 and 115–113, and one judge had the fight a draw, 114-114.
Estrada vs Orucuta In his next fight, Estrada, ranked #1 by the WBC, fought #7 ranked Felipe Orucuta. Estrada came out with a unanimous decision victory, 118–110, 117-111 and 117–111 on the scorecards, however, the contest was tougher for Estrada than what was expected by fans and media alike.
Estrada vs Mendez On December 8, 2018, Estrada stepped in on short notice and fought Victor Mendez at super bantamweight. The fight ended up being a good stay-busy fight for Estrada, as he dominated every second of the fight. After seven rounds, Mendez had had enough of it, and the fight was officially stopped.
Estrada vs Gonzalez II On the 13th of March, 2021, Estrada faced WBA (Super) super flyweight champion, Román González in a highly anticipated rematch. This was the second time the pair had met. Their first fight in 2012 ended in a unanimous decision win for Gonzalez. Both fighters were throwing a lot of punches, with Compubox crediting both with 2529 thrown punches combined, making it the busiest fight at 115 pounds the company has ever tracked. In a very close and thrilling fight, Gonzalez seemed to have narrowly outlanded Estrada. However, Estrada earned the split-decision victory having two judges score the fight in his favor, 117-111 and 115–113, while the third judge had it 115-113 for Gonzalez.
Estrada vs Gonzalez III Gonzalez was expected to face Juan Francisco Estrada in a trilogy bout in the main event of a DAZN broadcast card on 5 March 2022, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. Estrada was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a positive COVID-19 test. On 3 September 2022, it was announced that Gonzalez would face Juan Francisco Estrada for the third time in his professional career on 3 December. The bout headlined a DAZN broadcast card, which took place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Gonzalez lost the fight by majority decision, with scores of 114–114. 115–113 and 116–112.
Estrada vs Rodriguez On June 29, 2024 in Phoenix, AZ, Estrada defended his WBC and The Ring super flyweight titles against Jesse Rodriguez. He lost the fight by knockout in the seventh round.
Estrada vs Nasukawa On April 11, 2026, Estrada fought Tenshin Nasukawa at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. He lost by retirement at the end of round nine.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes50Loss45–5Tenshin Nasukawa RTD9 (12), Apr 11, 202649Win45–4Karim Arce LugoUD10Jun 14, 202548Loss44–4Jesse Rodriguez KO7 (12), Jun 29, 202447Win44–3Román González MD12Dec 3, 202246Win43–3Argi CortesUD12Sep 3, 202245Win42–3 Román GonzálezSD12Mar 13, 2021 44Win41–3 Carlos CuadrasTKO11 (12), Oct 23, 2020 43Win40–3 Dewayne Beamon TKO9 (12), Aug 24, 2019 42Win39–3 Srisaket Sor RungvisaiUD12Apr 26, 2019 41Win38–3 Victor MendezRTD8 (10), Dec 8, 2018 40Win37–3 Felipe OrucutaUD12Sep 8, 2018 39Loss36–3 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai12Feb 24, 2018 38Win36–2 Carlos CuadrasUD12Sep 9, 2017 37Win35–2 Anuar SalasTKO5 (10), Mar 11, 2017 36Win34–2 Raymond TabugonUD10Oct 8, 2016 35Win33–2 Hernán MárquezTKO10 (12), Sep 26, 2015 34Win32–2 Rommel AsenjoTKO3 (12), Mar 28, 2015 33Win31–2 Joebert AlvarezUD10Dec 6, 2014 32Win30–2 Giovani SeguraTKO11 (12), Sep 6, 2014 31Win29–2 Richie MepranumTKO10 (12), Apr 26, 2014 30Win28–2 Milan MelindoUD12Jul 27, 2013 29Win27–2 Brian Viloria12Apr 6, 2013 28Loss26–2 Román GonzálezUD12Nov 17, 2012 27Win26–1 German MerazTKO9 (10), Aug 24, 2012 26Win25–1 Ardin DialeKO2 (10)Jun 23, 2012 25Win24–1 Jonathan Lecona RamosUD8Apr 14, 2012 24Win23–1 Juan Carlos Sánchez Jr.TKO10 (10), Dec 17, 2011 23Win22–1 Luis MayUD8Dec 8, 2011 22Win21–1 Jose Alfredo TiradoTKO2 (6), Nov 2, 2011 21Win20–1 Ivan DiazUD6Sep 16, 2011 20Win19–1 Manuel LugoTKO3 (6), Jul 2, 2011 19Loss18–1 Juan Carlos Sánchez Jr.UD8May 14, 2011 18Win18–0 Jorge CardenasKO2 (10)Feb 18, 2011 17Win17–0 Jose Guadalupe MartinezUD6Dec 11, 2010 16Win16–0 Manuel ArmendarizTKO2 (10)Oct 2, 2010 15Win15–0 Carlos RodriguezTKO2 (10), Aug 7, 2010 14Win14–0 Francisco SotoUD10May 14, 2010 13Win13–0 Jose TamayoKO3 (10)Feb 20, 2010 12Win12–0 Marino MontielKO1 (8), Dec 12, 2009 11Win11–0 Carlos JacoboKO5 (6)Oct 16, 2009 10Win10–0 Felipe AcostaTKO3 (6), Sep 4, 2009 9Win9–0 Javier MerazTKO2 (6)Jul 31, 2009 8Win8–0 Eduardo GutierrezTKO5 (6)May 23, 2009 7Win7–0 Carlos LopezKO2 (6)Apr 11, 2009 6Win6–0 Jorge RamirezKO6 (6)Mar 29, 2009 5Win5–0 Roberto HernandezKO1 (4)Mar 6, 2009 4Win4–0 Gregorio Cortez4 (4)Jan 31, 2009 3Win3–0 Vicente Maroquin2 (4), Dec 13, 2008 2Win2–0 Daniel Contreras Jr1 (4)Nov 14, 2008 1Win1–0 Sergio Chavez4Aug 30, 2008
Titles in boxing Major world titles WBA (Unified) flyweight champion (112 lbs) WBO flyweight champion (112 lbs) WBA (Super) super flyweight champion (115 lbs) WBC super flyweight champion (115 lbs) (2×)
The Ring magazine titles The Ring super flyweight champion (115 lbs)
Regional/International titles WBC Mundo Hispano super flyweight champion (115 lbs)
Honorary titles WBC Franchise super flyweight champion
See also List of Mexican boxing world champions List of flyweight boxing champions List of super-flyweight boxing champions
Notes and references Notes
References
External links
Juan Francisco Estrada - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live