By Keith Idec

Srisaket Sor Rungvisai hopes Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez doesn’t retire.

Thailand’s Sor Rungvisai respects the former pound-for-pound king and wants to see Gonzalez bounce back from a brutal knockout loss to him in their second fight last month. Sor Rungvisai battered Gonzalez before knocking him out in the fourth round of their WBC super flyweight championship rematch September 9 in Carson, California.

Sor Rungvisai expressed those sentiments Monday during the WBC’s annual convention in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“I still think ‘Chocolatito’ is number one pound-for-pound,” Sor Rungvisai said, according to a press release from the WBC. “I think he should come back and fight. I think he’s still got it. I would like to meet him again and I will win again.”

The 30-year-old Gonzalez (46-2, 38 KOs) said immediately following his knockout defeat to Sor Rungvisai (44-4-1, 40 KOs) that he would retire. He has since stated that he expects to resume his career after taking a break from boxing.

The former four-division champion started this year as the No. 1 fighter on most pound-for-pound lists. Nicaragua’s Gonzalez lost a debatable, 12-round majority decision to Sor Rungvisai on March 18 at Madison Square Garden, which led to their rematch September 9.

Gonzalez overcame a first-round knockdown in their first fight to make it extremely competitive. He looked lethargic in their rematch, however, and was beaten badly by his powerful, left-handed opponent.

Gonzalez hasn’t been as effective at 115 pounds as he was in lower weight classes.

He hasn’t expressed interest in a third fight against Sor Rungvisai. Gonzalez did say last week that he would like to battle WBA super flyweight champion Kal Yafai (22-0, 14 KOs).

England’s Yafai is scheduled to defend his championship against Japan’s Sho Ishida (24-0, 13 KOs) on October 28 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Sor Rungvisai is expected to meet Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada in his next fight. Estrada (36-2, 25 KOs) defeated Carlos Cuadras (36-2-1, 27 KOs) by unanimous decision – 114-113 on all three scorecards – on the Sor Rungvisai-Gonzalez undercard September 9 to become the mandatory challenger for Sor Rungvisai’s WBC 115-pound title.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.