Juan Francisco Estrada

Campeón Azteca

Later that year, Estrada participated in the boxing reality show Campeón Azteca: Round 3 that took place between September to December 2011 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The show featured 16 super flyweight fighters competing in an elimination tournament. Estrada won his first fight by unanimous decision (60-54, 60-54, 60-54) against fellow prospect Ivan Diaz. In his second fight in the tournament, Estrada stopped veteran Juan Carlos Tirado in the second round. Estrada won one more fight against Luis May to qualify to the competition's final.

In the competition's final bout, Estrada would face Sánchez Jr. once again. Estrada went down in the second round after a left straight from Sánchez. Later on, with both fighters trading punches in the final round, Sánchez was rocked by a left hook from Estrada. Estrada continued throwing combinations and eventually scored a knockdown over Sánchez. Sánchez attempted to get up but the referee waived the count, giving Estrada the win by TKO with 1:02 elapsed in the tenth and final round.^[4] Both Estrada and Sánchez would go on to become world champions.

Estrada vs. González

On November 17, 2012, Estrada moved down from his natural division to challenge WBA light flyweight champion Román González. This was Estrada's first fight outside his native Mexico. The 22 year old Estrada proved to be a tougher challenge than most anticipated, but he nevertheless lost a unanimous decision (112-116, 112-116, 110-118) to the future number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter.^[5] González would later say that he was interested in a rematch against Estrada after one of his successful flyweight world title defenses.^[6]

Estrada vs. Viloria

On April 6, 2013, Estrada once again challenged for a world title, fighting Brian Viloria at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China, for the WBA (Super) and WBO Flyweight titles.^[7] Viloria had unified his titles against Hernán Márquez on the same event in which Gónzalez defeated Estrada. Estrada appeared to lose the early rounds against Viloria, but he would surge on the latter rounds, landing combinations that gave him the edge.^[8] Estrada won by split decision (117-111, 116-111, 113-115), thus becoming the new unified champion. Although, observers of the fight felt that the victory should have been ruled a unanimous decision in favor of Estrada.^[9]

Various defenses

In his first defense, he defeated number one ranked challenger Milan Melindo by unanimous decision (118-109, 118-109, 117-109). Melindo was knocked down in round 11, as Estrada cruised to a shutout win. Estrada would fight three times in 2014, scoring victories over Richie Mepranum, former champion Giovanni Segura, and Jobert Alvarez in a non-title fight. In 2015, he added two additional title defenses, against Rommel Asenjo and former champion Hernán Márquez. He then took a break from boxing to undergo surgery on his right hand. During Estrada's reign as a flyweight champion he became known for his refined technique and accurate punching.^[10]

Estrada vs. Cuadras

On June 2017, it was revealed that Estrada would face Carlos Cuadras. Following Srisaket Sor Rungvisai's unanimous decision win over Román González, Cuadras was the mandatory challenger for Sor Rungvisai, the World Boxing Council's champion. However, the WBC ordered a rematch between Sor Rungvisai and González in light of the controversy around the González-Sor Rungvisai decision. Cuadras then had to face Estrada, the next available ranked contender. The fight was scheduled for the Sor Rungvisai-González undercard on September 9, 2017 at Carson's StubHub Center.^[12]

On fight night, Cuadras seemed to gain the upper hand in the early rounds, switch-hitting and throwing and landing more punches. Nevertheless, Estrada was able to slowly impose his methodical style in the second half of the fight, even dropping Cuadras in round 11. Michael Buffer incorrectly announced "Carlos Estrada" as the winner of the fight, but after some confussion he corrected his mistake, giving Juan Francisco Estrada the win by unanimous decision (114-113, 114-113, 114-113).^[13]

Estrada vs. Sor Rungvisai

With this win over Cuadras, Estrada became the mandatory challenger to the WBC's champion, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, who successfully defended his title later that evening by knocking out Román González in round 4. Fernando Beltrán, Estrada's promoter, said that the fight was tentatively set for 24 February 2018.^[14]