Sunny Edwards might be fixated on beating WBO flyweight champion, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, in their upcoming 112lb unification bout but that doesn’t mean the unbeaten IBF title holder has stopped surveying the scene around him completely.

Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez may be 36 years old but remains the most well known fighter campaigning in the lower weight classes. If ‘Showtime’ beats Rodriguez, it is only natural that he would chase the highest profile and highest paying opponents available and in Edwards’ eyes, one man is head and shoulders above everybody else.

“There’s one fighter who stands out above the rest; ‘Chocolatito’. If it’s not him, you lot are all the same; world level fighters. ‘Chocolatito’ - because of the marketability - is like the mini ‘Canelo’ at these weights,” Edwards told SecondsOut.

“After I beat Bam I want a million to fight him and I’ll take his head clean off as well,” Edwards continued with a glint in his eye. “Metaphorically obviously. He’s a very tough bastard. I probably wouldn’t take his head an inch back. I could definitely dance around him and have a little move around.”

Edwards may have been half joking about what he would do to Gonzalez but was deadly serious about targeting the Nicaraguan legend should he get past Rodriguez. ‘Chocolatito’ may be nearing the end of his legendary career but he is still one of the true superstars of the sport. Every lower weight fighter will appreciate the attention Gonzalez has brought them and every single on of them would love to boost their own profile by beating him. Edwards would put himself in pole position for a potential fight by beating Rodriguez but as well as being good business, the fight has become more personal.

Back in August, Gonzalez’s twitter account posted, ‘Easy, easy Win for Bam. God Bless’ under a poster promoting the Rodriguez-Edwards fight.

“100%. He was disrespectful in my eyes,” Edwards said. “It was probably just his social media manager but he said I was easy work. I’ve never been easy work for anyone in my whole entire life. On God. I’ll stand on that. Maybe not physically challenging but mentally….killing people. Soul destroying. Derailing their career for years. Making them suffer imposter syndrome. ‘Am I really that bad or did he just make me look that bad?’ Serious. Go back and look. I may not always look the most physically dominating, but mentally? Come on.”