‘Chocolatito’ lost his trainer suddenly in 2016 and has been forced to find a new mentor for the Srikaset fight following the passing of the posthumous WBN Trainer of the Year.
“It was very difficult for me on a personal and professional level. Arnulfo was my trainer, friend, and father like figure in my life,” explained Gonzalez.
“This was my first training camp without him and I knew he would be happy if we kept on training hard like he taught us and keep winning in God’s name. With God on our team, these events become motivational.
“My head trainer (now) is Wilmer Hernandez, my father is my assistant trainer. The blueprint was made by dad, developed by Alexis Arguello and continued by Arnulfo, now the torch has been past to Wilmer. Wilmer has followed the same footsteps, but has also added a little of his style.”
On his upcoming challenge, Gonzalez added: “I believe every fight is different and every rival has their talent. I believe God gives me the same strength and blessing to train for each fight. The only difference I see in 115 is that more rivals are willing to fight me, which I believe is a true blessing.
“I had seen videos on him (Srikaset) since I was studying his fight with Cuadras. He is very strong and always moves forward with courage. He is a southpaw which is also an extra challenge to this fight, that is why we are training very hard.”
Old rival Carlos Cuadras features on the bill at The Garden and has been informed by the WBC that he will be mandatory for Gonzalez or Srikaset should he be successful this weekend.
“I am very happy that Carlos is going to fight on the same card. I wish him the best always. Right now I am focused on Rungvisai. Yes, I am open to a rematch with Carlos.”
