LOS ANGELES -- Long before flyweight champion Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez won world titles in three weight classes, and before he was universally considered one of the top 10 fighters in the world pound-for-pound, there was a humble beginning.

Growing up in Nicaragua, which he loves and where he still lives -- he proudly wore a baseball hat emblazoned with that nation's name during an interview with ESPN.com on Thursday afternoon -- Gonzalez recalled his days as a youngster when he was too poor to afford real boxing gloves. So he and the neighborhood kids he would street fight with were inventive.

Gonzalez, who was about 10 at the time, would wear the old, thick gloves that were used by the electricians who worked on the power cables where he lived. It did the trick.

"We didn't have any money for real gloves," Gonzalez said through manager and interpreter Carlos Blandon.

If Gonzalez couldn't afford gloves, a heavy bag to practice his punches on was also out of the question. But again, Gonzalez, who used to go door-to-door with his father, Luis, selling pesticides and detergent, was resourceful.

Gonzalez-Sosa Where: The Forum in Inglewood, California

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET/PT

TV: HBO

"In Nicaragua, some types of milk comes in plastic bags," he explained. "I would fill an empty plastic milk bag with soil and hang it from a tree for my first heavy bag."

When he was 14, Gonzalez went to a boxing gym as his interest became more serious. It was at the gym where he met Alexis Arguello, the late, great Hall of Fame former three-division world champion. Arguello, the greatest Nicaraguan boxer in history and a national hero, worked with many young boxers after he retired from the ring. But he saw something special in Gonzalez, whom he took under his wing and trained as an amateur and in the early days of Gonzalez's professional career.

Arguello was with Gonzalez (42-0, 36 KOs) in Japan when he won his first world title, a strawweight belt by fourth-round knockout of Yutaka Niida in 2008. The following year, Arguello took his own life at age 57.

In 2011, Gonzalez moved up in weight and won a junior flyweight world title. Last September, he impressively knocked out Akira Yaegashi in the ninth round, also in Japan -- a second home to him as he is promoted by Akihiko Honda's Teiken Promotions, Japan's top promotional company -- to win the flyweight title and move to 12-0 overall in world title bouts.

Had Arguello lived long enough, he would undoubtedly have been very proud that his prized pupil has come such a long way.

Arguello would also surely be filled with pride that Gonzalez, 27, will defend the flyweight world title against former junior flyweight titlist Edgar Sosa on Saturday night (HBO, 10 ET/PT) at the Forum in Inglewood, California, the same famed venue where Arguello fought four of his world title fights, including the bout in which he knocked out fellow Hall of Famer Ruben Olivares in the 13th round to win the featherweight crown in 1974.

In the main event, middleweight destroyer Gennady Golovkin (32-0, 29 KOs) will make his 14th title defense when he faces 2014 Boxcino tournament champion Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KOs).

"It's an amazing opportunity to be able to fight at the Forum," Gonzalez said. "Alexis would be happy that one of his pupils is fighting at the Forum. It means a lot."

Roman Gonzalez TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Arguello was Gonzalez's idol, and he doesn't think he can ever replace him as his country's greatest fighter, nor is he interested in the mantle.

"I can win more titles and I will never be No. 1 in Nicaragua," he said. "It will always be Alexis Arguello for all time. For me, he will always be No. 1."

Arguello had a deep impact on his life and career. Gonzalez said it was his father who "discovered" him but that it was Arguello who "polished" him and helped make him into the fighter he has become -- second best, for now, in his country's history.

"At the beginning I was starstruck and I would go to the gym and see him, and then I would start seeing him as a person who was mentor to me, who would teach me different things," Gonzalez said. "Then I would start going to eat with him and a relationship started. A friendship started.

"I did everything with him. We went to movies together, he coached me for fights, he would take me to eat, help me take care of my weight. He took me to different towns for fights as an amateur and was my trainer. He was very important to me."

Gonzalez, who has beaten quality opponents like Yaegashi, Francisco Rodriguez Jr., Juan Francisco Estrada and Katsunari Takayama, will be making his second flyweight title defense when he faces Sosa (51-8, 30 KOs), 35, who made 10 successful junior flyweight defenses during his 2007 to 2009 reign but has fallen short in two of his flyweight title shots.

"He's a great fighter; he's been champion, he's training very hard," Gonzalez said. "But I am also training hard. I am training to end the combat as soon as possible."

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Gonzalez, who packs a massive punch for such a small man, would like to make a big impression on the many who will be seeing him fight for the first time. He also wants to make a big impression on the HBO executives who decided to put him on the air -- the first time the network will be televising a flyweight bout in 20 years, since a Danny Romero fight in 1995.

"I am grateful for the opportunity that HBO has given me, to put me in a position where I can show the world my ability -- it's a blessing," Gonzalez said. "If everything comes out as planned, after this fight other big things will happen. I am definitely going to focus on this fight with Sosa for now, and hopefully everything comes out as planned. And if so, I would definitely like a rematch with Estrada."

In a 2012 junior flyweight defense, Gonzalez won a decision against Estrada in a fantastic fight. Estrada then moved up in weight and claimed a pair of flyweight belts, which he has defended five times. A rematch with Gonzalez to unify titles is a no-brainer. Gonzalez said he expects Estrada (32-2, 23 KOs) to be ringside on Saturday night.

Whatever happens, Gonzalez said he is humbled by the attention he is receiving, for the opportunity to fight on HBO and at the Forum, as Arguello did, and for being talked about as a pound-for-pound-level fighter like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

"I feel really happy and blessed," Gonzalez said. "I am happy for the recognition, and it's an honor that many people put me up there with those names like Mayweather and Pacquiao. All of my efforts and my determination have paid off."