Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez has no doubt his upcoming fight will end with a world title back around his waist.

Not entirely clear is where he will go from there, although the suggested route could very well allow him to remain among present company.

The former four-division titlist and one-time pound-for-pound king enters a dangerous title challenge versus 115-pound beltholder Khalid ‘Kal’ Yafai (26-0, 15KOs). The two collide this weekend live on DAZN from  The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, in supporting capacity to a 12-round welterweight clash between former multi-division titlists Mikey Garcia (39-1, 30KOs) and Jessie Vargas (29-2-2, 11KOs).

Garcia’s placement on the show is part of a lucrative one-fight deal struck with event promoter Eddie Hearn. A similar though far less lucrative structure is in place for Gonzalez, who perhaps will have far more incentive to stick around well beyond Saturday evening.

“It’s just the one fight with DAZN, but we will see how it fits for us and go from there,” Gonzalez (48-2, 40KOs) told BoxingScene.com of his appearance this weekend. “The first step is to put a world title back around our waist, then go after our old title after that.”

It just so happens that such an opportunity awaits the winner of Saturday’s World Boxing Association (WBA) junior bantamweight title fight. England’s Yafai attempts the sixth defense of the belt he’s now held for more than three years, with this weekend’s opportunity originally to have come versus lineal champ and World Boxing Council (WBC) titlist Juan Francisco Estrada (40-3, 27KOs), who suffered a hand injury and was forced to withdraw from their planned pre-Super Bowl clash in Miami.

Yafai instead agreed to defend versus Nicaragua’s Gonzalez, who has won two straight after suffering back-to-back losses to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in 2017. The first defeat was the first of Gonzalez’s career, while the 4th round knockout he suffered in their September 2017 ruined his chances of claiming Fighter of the Decade honors.

The race for Fighter of the 2020s has only just begun, with Gonzalez looking at a significant head start if he can through this fight as well as the one waiting in the wings. The winner will be groomed for a unification clash with Estrada, who plans to return to the ring by summertime and is on board with such a fight.

For Gonzalez, it’s a chance to revisit past business in more ways than one. The two collided in November 2012, with Gonzalez claiming a hard-fought 12-round win in what would become his final defense of his junior flyweight title. Both boxers moved up in weight to capture titles at flyweight, Estrada dethroning unified titlist Brian Viloria in April 2013 and Gonzalez claiming the lineal flyweight championship in September 2014.

Their paths were due to cross on a number of occasions, including significant title talks not too far after Estrada’s revenge-fueled World 115-pound championship win over Sor Rungvisai in their rematch last April. It didn’t quite work out, with Gonzalez ultimately going 15 months between fights but with his career fully back on track and ready to restore glory in his already Hall of Fame-level career.

“We know what lies ahead for the winner this weekend,” notes Gonzalez, who enters his first title fight in nearly 30 months. “We know this is a very difficult fight with (Yafai) and put in a lot of hard work to make sure we prevail.

“After that, then we can discuss (staying with DAZN) and pursuing the other champions. But first, we have to win this fight.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox