The long-awaited WBC super featherweight title fight between Miguel Berchelt and Miguel Roman delivered on its promise of fireworks, but Berchelt was the one who came out on top.
After numerous knockdowns, Berchelt finished off Roman in the ninth round to retain his WBC super featherweight title. The fight headlined a Top Rank card streamed exclusively on the ESPN+ streaming service.
It was the kind of fight that boxing fans were hoping to see as both men threw and landed dozens of power punches in the early going. Berchelt had the early advantage, outlanding and hurting Roman.
Roman was in trouble in the third round after a big left hook from Berchelt left his legs shaking and wobbly. Roman didn?t fare that much better in the fourth round despite being the aggressor at times, still unable to hurt the champion.
In the sixth round, Berchelt seriously hurt Roman with a right hand, that opened up a flurry of punches that resulted in a knockdown thanks to a straight right. Roman managed to get back up, but was knocked down shortly afterwards right before the end of the round.
Roman started to fight aggressively and even landed a couple of big punches in the ninth round that pushed Berchelt back. But Berchelt?s power eventually got the better of Roman, knocking the challenger down a third time. After a series of punches that landed upstairs on Roman with seconds remaining in the round, the referee stopped the fight.
Berchelt has now made his third successful title defense in 2018 and fourth overall title defense since winning the belt in January 2017 when he knocked out Francisco Vargas.