Miguel Roman won a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Negrete in a battle of undefeated super bantamweights.

In round two, Negrete started to bleed from his nose. Roman scored a knockdown with his right hand.

Roman, 123.8 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 40-35 on all cards and is now3-0. Negrete, 122 lbs of Hanford, CA is 2-1.

Michel Rivera remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Jerry Perez in a lightweight bout.

Rivera, 134.6 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR won by scores of 80-71 and 79-72 twice and is now 24-0. Perez, 135 lbs of Oak Hills, CA is 14-2.

Gurgen Hovhannisyan stopped Michael Coffie after round six of their eight round heavyweight bout.

Hovhannisyan pounded Coffie until the bout was stopped after the sixth round.

Hovhannisyan, 275.4 lbs of Yerevan, ARM is 4-0 with four knockouts. Coffie, 297.6 lbs of Kissimmee, FL is 13-3.

Michael Angeletti stopped Jeremy Adorno after round five of their six-round super bantamweight fight.

In round two, Angeletti landed a left that put down Adorno. Seconds later, Angeletti landed a grazing punch that made Adorno’s glove touch the canvas for a second knockdown.

Angeletti continued his dominance and Adorno’s corner stopped the bout after round five.

Angeletti, 124.4 lbs of Spring, TX is 7-0 with six knockouts. Adorno, 125.8 lbs of Allentown, PA is 7-1.

James Evans scored a come-from-behind of the year as he stopped Geovany Bruzon on the the third round of their six-round heavyweight bout.

In round two, Bruzon dropped Evans with a straight left on the jaw. In round three, Evans came out and rocked Bruzon with a big flurry. Evans rocked Bruzon’s head back and landed a big barrage of punches that forced a referee stoppage at 1:18.

Evans, 231.4 lbs of Toledo, OH is now 5-0-1 with five knockouts. Bruzon, 238.1 lbs of Holguin, CUB is 7-2.

Keeshawn Williams won a six-round unanimous decision over Julio Rosa in a welterweight bout.

Williams, 144 lbs of Lanham. MD won by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 twice and is now 10-1-1. Rosa, 141 lbs of Orlando, FL is now 5-2.

Miguel Roman won a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Negrete in a battle of undefeated super bantamweights.

In round two, Roman dropped Negrete with a right hand

Roman, 122.8 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 40-35 on all cards and is now 3-0. Negrete, 122 lbs of Hanford, CA is 2-1.

BRROKLYN, NY–Philadelphia-born Danny Garcia (36-3, 21 KOs) handled Phoenix native Jose Benavídez Jr (27-1-1, 18 KOs) throughout 12 rounds en route to a majority decision at Barclays Center. The larger Benavídez seemingly could not find an answer for Garcia, who seemed loose and quick for the contest. The judges scored the bout 114-114, 116-112 and 117-111.

Garcia landed 233 of 746 punches; Benavidez was 117 of 600.

Danny Garcia: 

“I did take a break going through mental things, things went dark (breaking down crying), I went through anxiety, deep depression, just trying to be strong.

“It was the pressure of life, being a good dad, just letting it out right now (crying) because it was stuck inside, it rained on me for a year and a half and the only way to do better is to fight and I’m a fighter, if you battle anxiety and depression, you can get out of it, that’s what I did today. I fought.

I still battle some days, I have dark days, but I try my best to stay positive, but I feel good, I gave the fans a good fight tonight.

“(Angel) was there with me the whole way. I’m nothing without this man.  I thank him every day, to be Danny Garcia again, people ask me all the time, why do I fight? I make a lot of money. Why does Warren Buffett is still making money? I’m a fighter. This is what I do, what I love to do. Hopefully, I don’t become a meme with the crying face.

“I’d like the rematch with Keith Thurman, he took my ‘0.’ I’ll take Lara for the middleweight title at 155 pounds.”

Angel Garcia:

“Love is the key. Love is the key to everything.” 

Jose Benavidez Jr.:

“I’m happy with my performance. I feel like I did good. I’m fighting in his backyard, one of the best, I took his punches like they were nothing.

“I thought I won the fight. But it is what it is, a loss makes you stronger.

“It’s tough, things don’t always go your way, they’re ups and downs. I try to be positive, like when the doctor said I would never walk again. I didn’t let that get to me. The only one that can stop me is me.

“He’s a great personality, we had a hell of a fight. We’re happy to be here.”

Demirezen Decisions Kownacki in a Slugfest

Turkish heavyweight, Ali Eren Demirezen (17-1, 12 KOs) edged Polish-born Adam Kownacki (20-3, 15 KOs) via unanimous decision in their 10-round heavyweight fight. The bout featured mixed displays of heavyweight power and boxing skill, with both fighters taking damage throughout the 10 rounds. Ultimately, the judges scored the contest 96-94, 97-93 and 97-93 for Demirezen.

The two threw a staggering 1766 punches with Demirezen landing 256 of 915.  Kownacki was 276 of 851, but Demirezen landed more power punches by a 239 to 186 tally.

Ali Eren Demirezen:

“I truly love fighting in the U.S. and I love New York so I said before you will see me more on SHOWTIME and PBC.

“I was nervous because he’s a strong fighter and I could be much better but it’s my first time here and he’d fought here before.”

Adam Kownacki:

“I’m a bit rusty, I think he was getting off first in the exchanges, I didn’t’ sit down as much, I think the rust played a part, being out so long

“I was out of the ring since last October, camp was good but I don’t know, I was letting him get off first, I wasn’t moving my feet, I went back to the old me instead of the first few rounds when I was doing good.

“I have two kids, I’ll have a long talk with my wife to see what I want to do. I’ve had so many fights here, so many great memories, I don’t want to go out like a loser. I would like another fight to leave my fans with a win.”

Russell Stops Barthelemy via controversial sixth round stoppage

Maryland son, Gary Antuanne Russell (15-0, 15 KOs) stopped former world champion and Las Vegas native Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KOs) in the sixth round their super lightweight 10-round matchup. The opening rounds of the fight featured heavy-handed actions, with both fighters landing powerful shots. The official stoppage came in a controversial manner, as Barthelemy was dropped from a leaping right hook from Russell.  Barthelemy seemingly beat the 8-count and looked ready to continue fighting. However referee Sharda Murdagh waved the fight off at 50 seconds of round six, handing Russell the TKO victory.

Gary Antuanne Russell:

“First and foremost I want to thank God, I want to tell my father up above I did it for him, we’re going to keep it going for pops, I want to thank showtime for letting me participate. I know Rances was a high-grade class athlete and he wanted to continue. Emotions were high. Whether we or bruised or beaten, as a warrior, you always want to continue but the referee was doing their job and if he was allowed to continue it would have been the same outcome.  I would have gotten him.

“It’s the first of many [without my father] I had to have tunnel vision. This is something my dad instilled in us, no matter what you go through in life and death, two things are inevitable, he raised us to be men and well-rounded men. Being thorough means to be prepared, and he prepared us for boxing and for life outside of boxing. I thank my father and I did what I had to do.

“In the sixth round I had him backing up, I knew he was looking for his right cross and I caught him backing up and I shot my hook and put him down, he was buzzed but he wanted to keep going. He’s a warrior.”

Rances Barthelemy:

“No, they shouldn’t have stopped it. I felt good, it was good shot, I’m not denying that, but they shouldn’t have stopped it.

“I got up and told him I’m fine and I’m good to go

“Of course I want the rematch, but with a different referee.”

Orlando Cuellar – Barthelemy’s Trainer:

“I’m unhappy , this was a good fight these fans paid good money to see, how can you take this opportunity away, he’s been down before and gotten up. He’s fought on. You’re supposed to give your fighter every opportunity to continue. The referee took away the chance for both to show their character, for Rances to continue and for Gary Antuanne to show his character by fighting on in a hard fight. You robbed the fans. We want a rematch but with a different referee.”

–NON TELEVISED ACTION–

Ukrainian-born Sergiy Derevyanchenko (14-4, 10 KOs) decidedly handled San Diego native Joshua Conley (17-4-1, 11 KOs) in their 10-round middleweight bought. The fight went the distance, with all three judges scoring in favor of Derevyanchenko. Two of them scored the contest 99-91 and the last scored it 98-92, officially awarding the Ukrainian the unanimous decision.

Vito Mielnicki JR. (12-1, 8 KOs) of Roseland, New Jersey stopped Jimmy Williams (18-9-2, 6 KOs) of New Haven, Connecticut at 2:12 of the sixth round of their 8-round super welterweight matchup. Mielnicki JR unleased a series of strong blows on Williams, forcing his corner to intervene, providing the New Jersey native with another TKO victory.

Philadelphia native Miguel Román (2-0, 0 KOs) and Baltimore-born Marcus Redd (0-1, 0 KOS) fought to a decision in their super bantamweight four-round bout. Both fighters displayed strong technical boxing during the fight. Romàn, however, won the decision, with all three judges scoring the contest 39-37 in his favor.

Junior Younan (17-0-1, 11 KOs) wasted no time in making a statement against fellow Brooklyn resident Dauren Yeleussinov (10-2-1, 9 KOs) . In the first round of the scheduled eight-round the super middleweight bout, Younan unloaded shots on his opponent, not stopping until the referee stepped between the two  at 1:47 of round 1.

Ricky Lopez (21-5-2, 6 KOS) and Joe Perez (16-6-4, 10 KOS) were looking for knockouts in this fast-paced super featherweight 6-rounder. However, the fight went the distance, ultimately leaving the outcome to the judges. Although one judge scored in favor of San Diego native Joe Perez by a 58-56 tally, the two others did not agree, with both scoring it 57-57, ending the fight in a majority draw.

Ismael Villareal (12-0, 8 KOS) of Bronx, New York dropped and stopped LeShawn Rodriguez(13-1, 10 KOs) of Port Jefferson, New York in the sixth round of their eight-round super welterweight bout to maintain his perfect record. Following a knockdown in the second round, Villareal repeated this in the sixth, Rodriguez got to his feet, but was wobbly, forcing the referee to stop the bout.

Dwyke Flemmings JR (2-0, 2 KOs) of Paterson, New Jersey defeated Angelo Thompson (0-3, 0 KOs) of Irvington, New Jersey via TKO in their super welterweight contest. In the first round, both fighters threw hard shots and landed combinations. This continued in the following round, however, Flemmings JR turned up the intensity, backing Thompson down, with the referee officially stopping the bout at 2:32 of the second round.

O’Shaquie Foster stopped Miguel Roman in round nine of their scheduled 10-round super featherweight bout at the parking lot of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California,

In round one, Foster dropped Roman with a perfect right to the chin.

In round nine, Foster dropped Roman with a hard left hook. Foster jumped on Roman and landed a barrage of punches and referee Jack Reiss stopped the bout at 58 seconds.

Foster, 130 lbs of Houston, TX is 18-2 with 11 knockouts. Roman, 129 1/2 lbs of Ciudad Juarez, MEX is 62-14.

“I feel great and like I showed everybody I can box” Foster told ringside reporter Curran Bhatia. “I showed the world that I’m talented and hope everyone will want to see me fight again.”

“It feels unbelievable to be on this stage and show my talent to the world,” Foster continued. “I would love to face the winner of Berchelt vs. Valdez next, or even Carl Frampton. Any of the top guys, I’m ready to get in the ring with.”

Zepeda stops Ramirez in 5!

William Zepeda remained undefeated by stopping Roberto Ramirez in round five of their scheduled 10-round lightweight bout.

Zepeda applied tremendous pressure and had Ramirez on the defensive for most of the fight. In round five, Zepeda landed a huge barrage of punches that forced the corner to stop the fight at 2:43.

Zepeda, 135 lbs of San Mateo, MEX is 22-0 with 20 knockouts. Ramirez, 134 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 23-3-1.

Eduardo Hernandez stopped Eduardo Garza in round three of a scheduled eight-round super featherweight bout.

In round one, Garza was cut under the left eye. In round three, Hernandez started to wear Garza down and landed a body shot that sent Garza down for the 10-count the fight was stopped at 2:37.

Hernandez, 129 lbs of Mexico City is 30-1 with 27 knockouts. Garza, 130 lbs of Mission, TX is 15-3-1.

Los Angeles – November 18, 2020 – Super featherweights O’Shaquie Foster (17-2, 10 KO’s) and Miguel Roman (62-13, 47 KO’s) made weight on Wednesday ahead of their 10-round headlining fight tomorrow/Thursday on Ring City’s inaugural fight night airing live on NBCSN at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST from Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles.

Foster returns to the ring carrying a seven-fight win streak to face Roman, a three-time world challenger who has proved durable and resilient in an impressive career spanning almost two decades.

In the co-feature, skilled Mexican fighters William Zepeda (21-0, 19 KO’s) and Roberto Ramirez (23-2-1, 16 KO’s) meet in a 10-round contest. Nov. 19 marks Zepeda’s first professional fight in the U.S. He faces Ramirez, known for upsetting former WBC title holder Dejan Zlaticanin in 2018.

Former two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter will call the action alongside NBC Sports play-by-play commentator Bob Papa. Brian Campbell will serve as fight night analyst with Curran Bhatia reporting from ringside.

It was billed to be a toe-to-toe action fight, and it lived up to it as Miguel Berchelt beatdown a game Miguel Roman to retain the WBC Super Featherweight title via 9th round stoppage at The Don Haskins Cinvention Center in El Paso, Texas.

The two landed heavy punches over the 1st part of the fight that saw several phone booth exchanges, with Brerchelt getting the better of the action.

In round six, Berchelt finally cracked Roman as he landed a hard right hand that sent Roman to the canvas.  Seconds later it was a quick left-right combination that sent Roman down for a 2nd time.

Berchelt continued to pound away on Roman.  The fight could have been stopped several times if not for Roman showing a tremendous heart and landing a right hand to keep him in the fight.

Roman finally broke for good in round nine as he was dropped by a barrage of punches.  Seconds later, it was another nasty head combination that had referee Jon Schorle stop the bout at 2:58.

Berchelt, 129.6 lbs of Merida,  MEX is 35-1 with 31 knockouts.  Roman, 129.6 lbs of Ciudad Juarez, MEX is 60-13.

“This was the toughest of my four world title defenses,” Berchelt said. “I give my respect to Mickey as an opponent. The key was my body work. He kept getting up and fighting with all of his heart. He’s a valiant Mexican warrior.”

Said Roman: “I feel fine. I gave it 100 percent. I’ll be back.”

Three-time world title challenger Miguel Marriaga stopped Jose Estrella in round four of their scheduled 10-round featherweight bout.

In round three, Marriaga landed a perfect left to the face that sent Estrella to the canvas.  In round four, it was a hard left to the body that sent Estrella riving in pain on the canvas for the 1-count at 2:43.

Marriaga, 126.5 lbs of Cartagena, COL is 27-3 with 23 knockouts.  Estrella, 126 1/4 lbs of Tijuana. MEX is 20-15-1.

“He was a very tough and strong opponent,” Marriaga said. “I know he trained hard for this fight, but I trained harder. In the end, my experience was key in getting the victory. The plan was to attack the body and that’s exactly what I did. I knocked him out with a huge left hook to the body.

“I know that I have what it takes to become a world champion. I want to challenge for another world title!”

Robson Conceicao won an eight-round unanimous decision over Joey Laviolette in a super featherweight bout.

Conceicao, 130 1/4 lbs of Bahia, BRA won by scores of 80-72 on all cards, and is now 10-0.  Laviolette, 129.5 lbs of Sackville, CAN is 9-2.

Conceicao said: “This is my second bout fighting eight rounds and I felt great. I always train hard and I am always in great physical condition. I feel like I’m prepared to go the 12-round distance. I want to face the best. I’m ready to battle against the champions of the junior lightweight division. I want Tevin Farmer, Miguel Berchelt, Alberto Machado, or Gervonta Davis. I don’t care who it is. I want a title!”

Saul Rodriguez remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Claudio Tapia in a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout.

In round one, Rodriguez landed a left to the body that put Tapia on a knee.  Tapia’s left eye began to swell really badly.  In round two, it was a left hook that sent Tapia to canvas.  Seconds later a right hand ended things when Rodriguez scored a 3rd knockdown at 1:57.

Rodriguez, 135 3/4 lbs of Riverside, CA is 22-0-1 with 16 knockouts.  Tapia, 137 lbs of Ciudad Mendoza, ARG is 28-19-4.

Rodriguez said: “I was anxious and excited to get back in there after such a long time out of the ring. It was a long time coming, but I did what I had to do and got the job done.”

Nicklaus Flaz took an exciting eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Sagadat Rakhmankul in a welterweight bout.

In round four, Flaz landed a hard right that sent Rakhmankul to the canvas.  Rakhmankul came back in round five to land some crushing shots that rocked Flaz all over the ring, and even open a cut over Flaz’s right eye.

The two pounded it out in the last round with Flaz hammerimg Rakhmankul and almost scoring a knockdown.

Flaz, 147 1/2 lbs of Vaga Alta, PR won by scores of 78-73, 77073 and 76-75 and is now 6-1.  Rakhmankul, 147.25 lbs of Oxnard, CA is 3-1.

Janibek Alimkhanuly took a eight-round split decision over Vaughn Alexander in a super middleweight bout.

Alimkhanunly, 163 1/4 lbs of Almaty, KAZ is 4-0.  Alexander, 162.25 lbs of St. Louis, MO 12-2.

Zach Prieto needed just 45 seconds to dispose of Michael Andrews in their scheduled four round middleweight bout.

Prieto, 158 lbs of El Paso, TX is 4-0 with three knockouts.  Andrews, 157 lbs of Pontiac, MI is 1-3.

 

Follow all the action as Miguel Berchelt defends the WBC Super Featherweight title against Miguel Roman.  The action kicks off at 9:30 PM ET with a battle between former world title challenger Miguel Marriaga and Jose Estrella

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED.  THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Overhand right from Roman..Jab and combination from Berchelt..Hard right from Roman..Body shot from Berchelt..

Round 2 Body shot from Berchelt…Right from Roman..Hard right…Lots of punches being thrown..toe to toe in the center of the ring..Left from Berchelt..Left hook..Hard uppercut

Round 3 Berchelt moving more..Right from Roman..Good right from Berchelt..Hard left..Roman staggered..Body shots..Big left…Roman shows a great chin

Round 4 Left from Berchelt

Round 5 Roman gets in a right..Left hook from Berchelt..Right to body..Left from Roman..

Round 6 Right from Roman…Right from Berchelt..Body shot..Left from Roman..Right and left from Berchelt..3 hard punches..Hard body shot..BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES ROMAN…big LEFT AND RIGHT AND DOWN GOES ROMAN AGAIN

Round 7 Left hook by Berchelt..Left to body and head..Double left hook..3 flush punches bucjle Roman..4 punches to the head

Round 8 Roman trying to land a left..Combination..Big right and left from Berchelt…Right and left to head..2 body shots and a left to head..2 more rights..Flush shots..Roman taking heavy shots

Round 9  Big right from Berchelt..right from Roman..Huge head and body combination…BIG COMBINATION AND DOWN GOES ROMAN..Roman trying to hang around..3 more head shots from Berchelt..BARRAGE OF PUNCHES BY BERCHELT ON THE ROPES AND MERCIFULLY FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Jab from Estrella..Jab from Marriaga…

Round 2 Body shot from Marriaga..Another…3rd body shot..

Round 3 Hard body shot from Mariaga..Left hook and DOWN GOES ESTRELLA..Hard combination on the ropes..Hook from Estrella

Round 4 Right from Marriaga…Jab from Estrella..Combination..Marriaga lands a combination on the ropes….HARD LEFT HOOK TO THE BODY AND DOWN GOES ESTRELLA…HE DOES NOT BEAT THE COUNT AND THE FIGHT WAS OVER

• Miguel Berchelt 129.6 lbs vs. Miguel Roman 129.6 lbs
(Berchelt’s WBC Super Featherweight world title – 12 Rounds)

• Miguel Marriaga 126.5 lbs vs. Jose Estrella 126.25 lbs
(Featherweight – 10 Rounds)

ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET)

• Robson Conceicao 130.25 lbs vs. Joey Laviolette 129.5 lbs
(Super Featherweight – 8 Rounds)

• Saul Rodriguez 135.75 lbs vs. Claudio Tapia 137 lbs
(Lightweight – 10 Rounds)

• Sagadat Rakhmankul 147.25 lbs vs. Nicklaus Flaz 147.5 lbs
(Welterweight – 8 Rounds)

Janibek Alimkhanuly 163.25 lbs vs. Vaughn Alexander 162.25 lbs
(Super Middleweight – 8 Rounds)

• Zach Prieto 158 lbs vs. Michael Andrews 157 lbs
(Middleweight- 4 Rounds)
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Promociones del Pueblo, tickets are on sale now. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $45, and $35, tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, and in person at the UTEP Ticket Center.

Use the hashtag #BercheltRoman to join the conversation on social media.

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusives, original boxing programs The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and Counterpunch (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

EL PASO, Texas (Nov. 1, 2018) – WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt and challenger Miguel “Mickey” Roman stood nose to nose, two days away from what is expected to be a phone booth battle at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas (ESPN+, 9:30 p.m. ET).

Berchelt (34-1, 30 KOs) is the 26-year-old champion looking to make the fourth defense of his world title. Roman (60-12, 47 KOs) is the 32-year-old veteran from Juarez, Mexico, making his third attempt at a world title.

At the final press conference, on the floor of the Don Haskins Center, this is what Berchelt and Roman had to say.

Miguel Berchelt

“I’m very happy to fight here. I have fought in other cities in the United States, but now I’m very happy to fight here in El Paso. I trained very hard. I want to show that I’m the best 130-pounder in the world, and I will show it on Saturday night.”

“I’m going for the knockout and I know that Mickey will be as well, so it’s going to be a great fight.”

“I am coming to give a good fight and defend what is mine. I promise a great show. Blood, knockouts, and emotion are guaranteed.”

Miguel Roman

“This is a fight that had to happen. I earned the right to fight Berchelt, and I was looking for this fight for a long time. Finally, it’s happening.”

“I’m happy that this fight is happening. I’ve dreamed about a fight like this since I started boxing at 13 years old. What can I say? It’s happening on Saturday, and I am going to leave everything in the ring.”

On potentially becoming first world champion from Juarez, Mexico

“That gets me going, and I am very motivated for that reason. I want to be the first world champion from Ciudad Juarez and make history.”

Bob Arum

“El Paso has always been a great, great boxing town. And, therefore, it’s really a fitting stage for a battle which I said on my latest Tweet… I guarantee this {fight} will be considered, once it’s finished, a contender for Fight of the Year. This is no ordinary fight. This is going to be a great, memorable fight.”

“The two Miguels are going to go at it. Hammering time. You’re really in for a treat. These two warriors are really what boxing is all about. Once the bell rings, as long as the fight goes, your eyeballs are going to be riveted on the ring.”

ESPN+, 9:30 p.m. ET

Miguel Berchelt (champion) vs. Miguel Roman (challenger), 12 rounds, WBC Super Featherweight World Championship

Miguel Marriaga vs. Jose Estrella, 10 rounds, Featherweight

ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET

Robson Conceicao vs. Joey Laviolette, 8 rounds, Super Featherweight

Saul Rodriguez vs. Claudio Tapia, 10 rounds, Lightweight

Sagadat Rakhmankul vs. Nicklaus Flaz , 8 rounds, Super Welterweight

Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Vaughn Alexander, 8 rounds, Super Middleweight

Zach Prieto vs. Michael Andrews, 4 rounds, Middleweight

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Promociones del Pueblo, tickets are on sale now. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $45, and $35, tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, and in person at the UTEP Ticket Center.

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusives, original boxing programs The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and Counterpunch (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 30, 2018) – On paper, it was one of the best action fights that could’ve been made. WBC super featherweight champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt and Miguel “Mickey” Roman have promised to deliver on the lofty expectations, Saturday at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.

Berchelt-Roman and Miguel Marriaga-Jose Estrella will stream live in the United States beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ —the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

The entire undercard will stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET and includes 2016 Brazialian Olympian gold medalist Robson Conceicao (9-0, 5 KOs) against Joey Laviolette (9-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round super featherweight bout. The card will also see the long-awaited return of Saul “Neno” Rodriguez (21-0-1, 15 KOs), who will face Claudio Tapia (28-18-4, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder at lightweight.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Promociones del Pueblo, tickets are on sale now. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $45, and $35, tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, and in person at the UTEP Ticket Center.

Berchelt and Roman worked out Tuesday at the Wolves Den Gym. This is what they had to say.

Miguel Berchelt

“I am so eager to put Roman in his place that when I spar, I imagine that I’m sparring him and I push my sparring partners to the limit. Apologies to all my sparring partners because I have hurt them during sparring, but when that happens, the actions stops immediately and I apologize to them. I’m just thinking of Roman.”

“There is more at stake in this fight than just victory. This is about pride! I want to teach Mickey a lesson in his own backyard. I am fed up with all the talking he has done. In the ring, my quality as an elite fighter, and my fists, will do the talking.”

“It’s a rivalry between two sportsmen. Mickey has talked a lot, and we’re going to brawl.”

“Styles make fights. I am going to take the first round or two to feel him out. Then, I’ll make the adjustments, and if I have to go all out, I will.”

Miguel “Mickey” Roman

On fighting close to his hometown of Juarez, Mexico

“It’s definitely a great motivation for me. When I fight here in El Paso, a lot of people support me from all over, like Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and all around El Paso and Juarez.”

On his message to the fans of El Paso

“This is the fight that everybody wanted to see. Boxing people wanted to see this fight, and I’m willing to put everything on the line. Whatever I have, I will leave it in the ring.”

On the crowd that will be attendance

“The people are going to be divided. The arena is going to be divided. They will be rooting for me and Berchelt. He’s a champion. He has a lot of fans, too. Believe me, I’m going to do part and do my best in the ring. This will be the fight of my life.”

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusives, original boxing programs: The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and In This Corner (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit www.plus.espn.com.

EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 16, 2018) — Miguel “The Scorpion” Marriaga has had two previous cracks at world championship glory, falling short against Oscar Valdez and Vasiliy Lomachenko. The Colombian puncher’s quest for a third title shot continues Saturday, Nov. 3, when he takes on Jose Estrella (20-14-1, 14 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight bout at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.

Marriaga-Estrella will be the co-feature to the previously announced Miguel Berchelt-Miguel Roman super featherweight title bout and will stream live at 9:30 p.m ET. on ESPN+— the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

The undercard will stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET and includes 2016 Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao (9-0, 5 KOs), who will take on Joey Laviolette (9-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round super featherweight fight.

“I am excited to be back on a great card, and I look forward to winning impressively and getting back to world title contention,” Marriaga said. “There are a lot of great featherweights out there, and I am here to prove that I am one of them.”

Marriaga (26-3, 22 KOs) proved he belonged at the world-class level in 2017 with a pair of valiant efforts in championship bouts. He battled WBO featherweight champion Valdez, pushing the budding superstar en route to a competitive unanimous decision defeat. He then moved up four pounds to challenge pound-for-pound elite Lomachenko for the WBO junior lightweight title, losing via seventh-round TKO. He returned to action on May 12 in Colombia, knocking out Derlinson Buriel in the fourth round.

In other undercard action:

Saul “Neno” Rodriguez (21-0-1, 15 KOs) will return from a 20-month layoff to face Claudio Tapia (28-18-4, 13 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout.

Sagadat Rakhmankul (3-0, 1 KO), the Egis Klimas-managed prospect who is training out of the Boxing Laboratory in Oxnard, Calif., will fight Nicklaus Flaz (5-1, 4 KOs) in an eight-rounder at welterweight.

Janibek Alimkhanuly (3-0, 1 KO), also known as “Johnny 2 Guns”, will fight the talented Vaughn Alexander (12-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-rounder at super middleweight. Alimkhanuly last fought Sept. 28 and shut out Carlos Galvan over six rounds.

El Paso-born middleweight prospect Zach Prieto (3-0, 2 KOs) will fight Michael Andrews (1-2, 0 KOs) in a four-rounder.

Philadelphia native Paul Krool (1-0, 1 KOs) will look to make it two in a row against an opponent to be determined in a four-round welterweight bout.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing;
Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing, Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Use the hashtag #BercheltRoman to join the conversation on social media.

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusives, original boxing programs The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and In This Corner (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

EL PASO, Texas (Sept. 17, 2018) – WBC super featherweight world champion Miguel ‘El Alacrán” Berchelt and Miguel “Mickey” Roman went face-to-face on the arena floor of the Don Haskins Center, site of their Nov. 3 showdown that will, once and for all, settle this simmering grudge match.

Berchelt (34-1, 30 KOs), from, Cancun, Mexico, is the 26-year-old champion looking to make his fourth successful title defense. Roman (60-12, 47 KOs), from Juarez, Mexico, is a 32-year-old who will be making his third attempt at a world title.

Roman and Berchelt met the media on Monday in El Paso, the middle stop of a three-city press swing that, if anything, has stoked the rivalry between the two. Here is what they had to say 47 days away from one of the year’s most anticipated fights.

Miguel Berchelt

“I am very happy to be here. It’s my second time on ESPN. I am training very hard in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. When there are two Mexicans in the ring, the show is guaranteed to be great. This won’t be the exception.”

“In boxing, trash talk is normal. At the end of the day, we are fighters. It is going to be a great fight. The people will leave the arena happy because they are going to see a great fight. They are going to see a great champion in Miguel Berchelt.”

“Roman and I have wanted this fight for a very, very long time. He asked for this opportunity, and I am happy to give it to him. This is going to be a great fight, but I know it will end with my hands raised. I am young and hungry. It doesn’t matter that we’re fighting in his backyard. El Paso and Juarez are going to be my towns when it’s over.”

Miguel Roman

“I would like you to know I’m very happy. I feel great fighting for this belt against Miguel Berchelt. This is something that we’ve been waiting for. Now, it’s happening. I live near the border, and fighting here is like I’m fighting in my house. The people from El Paso, Juarez, and Las Cruces {New Mexico} always support me. On Nov. 3, my people are going to come and support me.”

“I’m fighting a great champion in Miguel Berchelt. He’s very strong and I respect him a lot. I gotta do what I gotta do. I gotta do my job. My experience, strength, and hunger to win this title will take me to victory.”

“He’s talking all of this stuff, that he’s going to take my head off and things like that. El Paso is my town. If he thinks he’s going to come in here and be talking like that, he’s got another thing coming.”

Berchelt-Roman and a soon-to-be announced co-feature will stream live in the United States beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ — the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN. The entire undercard will stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Promociones del Pueblo, tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. MDT. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $45, and $35, tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, and in person at the UTEP Ticket Center.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing,@ESPN, @ESPNBoxeo, @ESPNDeportes.

Use the hashtag #BercheltRoman to join the conversation on social media.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit plus.espn.com.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusive, original boxing programs The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and In This Corner (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

EL PASO, Texas (Sept. 15, 2018) – They have talked the talk. The time to throw down is near.

For Miguel “El Alacrán” Berchelt and Miguel “Mickey” Roman, this is the fight they demanded, a throwback all-Mexican battle that promises to deliver on the pre-fight bluster.

Berchelt will make the fourth defense of his WBC super featherweight title against Roman on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Don Haskins Center on the campus of The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Berchelt-Roman and a soon-to-be announced co-feature will stream live in the United States beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ — the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Promociones del Pueblo, tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. MDT. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $45, and $35, tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, and in person at the UTEP Ticket Center.

“Top Rank is very pleased to be able to present a truly great championship fight between two Mexican warriors in the great city of El Paso, which has hosted so many significant boxing events in the past,” said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

“I have wanted this fight for a very long time,” Berchelt said. “Roman has been talking a lot. I can’t wait to be in the ring with him. I am happy to fight in El Paso, which is the perfect location for a fight like this. I will show all the fans that I am on my way to becoming one of the great Mexican champions.”

“Berchelt is in for a big surprise,” Roman said. “He’s never seen a Mexican warrior like me before. The fans are going to be on my side, and I know I will be the new WBC champion.”

Berchelt (34-1, 30 KOs), a Cancun native who now resides in Mérida, is an eight-year pro who is equally adept at boxing and brawling. The only hiccup on his record occurred on March 15, 2014, when a left hook from Luis Eduardo Florez put Berchelt down in the opening round. While many observers felt the stoppage was a bit premature, Berchelt rebounded to win his next nine bouts by knockout, including winning a WBO interim 130-pound title, before challenging Francisco Vargas for the WBC super featherweight title on Jan. 28, 2017. In one of the year’s best fights, Berchelt landed more than 400 punches, breaking down Vargas en route to an 11th-round knockout victory. In his first title defense, he outboxed Takashi Miura to score a wide unanimous decision win. Berchelt is 2-0 in 2018, most recently knocking out former world champion Jonathan Barros in the third round in a fight that streamed on ESPN+.

Roman (60-12, 47 KOs), from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a 15-year pro whose back-and-forth battles have earned him a reputation as one of the sport’s most reliable action stars. He’s fought a litany of the sport’s top fighters from 122 to 135 pounds. In a roughly seven-month stretch from November 2013 to June 2014, he scored knockout victories over former world champions Daniel Ponce De Leon and Juan Carlos Salgado. Roman, who previously challenged for world titles at featherweight and lightweight, will be making his third attempt at a world title. He made an impression on American fight fans when he fought Miura on the Berchelt vs. Vargas undercard. Despite being knocked out in the 12th and final round by Miura, Roman battled through a vicious cut around his right eye. Roman is 4-0 since the Miura defeat, a stretch that includes a TKO win against former two-weight world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing,@ESPN, @ESPNBoxeo, @ESPNDeportes.

Use the hashtag #BercheltRoman to join the conversation on social media.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit plus.espn.com.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusive, original boxing programs The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and In This Corner (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

Miguel Berchelt will defend his 130 world title against Mickey Roman on November 3rd, and will streamed on ESPN+, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I have never shied away from him,” Berchelt said. “I fulfilled my previous commitments as a champion. We will simply face him and put Roman in his reality, back to where he should to be.

“Roman has spoken a lot, and it is time to teach him a lesson of humility and respect. We are going to knock him out, to tear off his head. I only hope to meet in the ring, and there he will feel my power.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world champion Orlando Salido un-retired after announcing his retirement last Saturday night after being stopped by Miguel Roman in Las Vegas.

“I am just an old fighter now,” the 37-year-old Salido said in a heartfelt manner.

“On Saturday night I let my emotions and my frustration get the best of me,” Salido said from his home in Phoenix. “It was a tough fight, and I was not able to do some of [the] things [I’ve] always been able to do in the ring that I attributed to my age and wear and tear on my body from so many wars.

“But after coming home and reviewing my camp and the fight, I realized that my weight issues were also part of the problem on Saturday night. I came into camp at the highest weight ever, and our focus became the weight and the boxing became secondary during training camp.”

“I felt that I left my fight at the scale,” Salido said. “No excuse, but one fight in 18 months did not help me stay in shape, and getting to the weight was the biggest concern for my fight, and while I am happy with the fight that I gave the fans, I truly believe that I can do better, so I am keeping my options open to returning in 2018 at 130 or 135 pounds. Sometime after a fight and in the heat of the moment, things are said that, upon reflection, are not the correct things to say. I want to get back into the ring to give my fans some more thrills as I believe I still have some good boxing left.”

By Bart Barry-

Saturday on ESPN Ukrainian super featherweight champion Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko made undefeated Cuban super bantamweight champion Guillermo “The Jackal” Rigondeaux quit after six rounds. On HBO Mexican journeyman Miguel “Mickey” Roman beat to a crumple Mexican journeyman and former champion Orlando “Siri” Salido. ESPN’s match comprised two fighters with four Olympic gold medals. HBO’s comprised two fighters with 25 professional losses. While any aficionado might’ve predicted which match would be more entertaining, few of us predicted exactly how much more entertaining Roman-Salido’d be than Lomachenko-Rigondeaux.

Saturday’s mainevents hadn’t a unifying thread that springs to mind but Salido, HBO’s counterprogramming ace, representing the one loss on Lomachenko’s record. It’s a proper loss, too, no matter how a commentator and ring announcer now revise it.

No sooner do we threaten to start a new era in which undefeated ledgers are not all there is to a fighter’s dossier but we try to unblemish Lomachenko’s record retroactively – else we’ll compromise what words like “otherworldly” we now include in the subtitle of his brochure. This straining for symmetry is what happens when we see ourselves as storytellers, not journalists, a point of ongoing and massive struggle for television as a medium.

Television was built on images that flicker to mesmerize and entertain. When this wasn’t enough to grow revenues television endeavored to get serious and journalistic and in a small corner of itself did so successfully enough subgenres got born. But television is too topical to be sober or intellectual as the written word – with its frowzy dressers, doughy faces, hard drinkers and thousandhours spent in front of library stacks instead of mirrors – and television knows this about itself and too knows it’s not glorious or beautiful as cinema or it wouldn’t have to sell its every fifth minute to advertisers. Television is best when it tries to be a little of both, more intellectual than cinema, more fun than print.

Television is frankly awful when it tries to lecture. There were some moments of it Saturday.

Something about Lomachenko, starting with his silly nickname, makes aspiring Homers of every speedreader and street philosopher; the mean feat of making smaller men quit fighting in frustration ascends to the historic when Lomachenko does it. Much of this, again, is his topicality; Lomachenko’s promoter, Bob Arum, knows better than any man alive if you can get your guy in front of a camera against weak opposition television’s salesmanship reliably fills every vacuum in realtime; commentary crews involuntarily enter a hyperbole duel with one another, earnestly wanting to be able to say theirs was the first to perform a historic inventory of this historic figure’s every historic quality. Some writers sometimes do this, too, especially those who hope to make it to television someday, but writing polices its own – as it did for centuries before television’s invention – dealing in credibility more than ratings.

Something about the very nature of words makes it harder to write “Lomachenko may someday be considered greater than Muhammad Ali” than it is to say it.

If there’s some tension between a pursuit of truth and a fun experience, television has to err on the fun side of things, selling the experience in a way print does not: nobody, after all, in 30 years will say he remembers the first time he read about Lomachenko, while plenty of folks now hope to have occasion to say they remember the first time they saw him. There are plenty of smart professionals in television, of course, and after thinking a bit on the proposition they realize the risk to credibility of calling every fighter the next Ali, Marciano or Robinson (or Pernell Whitaker) is dwarfed by the reward of being the first to recognize a future legend.

“Predicting,” as they say, “10 of the next two great champions.”

At the risk of losing a reader or two, I can happily report I found Miguel Roman’s victory multiples more compelling than Lomachenko’s. Wait, get back here, you two; I watched Lomachenko-Rigondeaux live, not Roman-Salido. If I wasn’t nearly first on the Rigondeaux bandwagon I did cover from ringside his sixth, ninth and 10th prizefights and recognized, with the help of a local San Antonio trainer, his multitude of talents. I wasn’t ringside for his defining win against Nonito Donaire (I was at a Natalie Merchant concert in Fort Worth, instead, and do not regret it a little) but was thrilled with the result, annoyed as I was by the hyperbole by then accrued to Donaire.

Since then I’ve been unimpressed by Rigondeaux as the rest of you. But he did do Saturday what we ask prizefighters to do once they’ve declared themselves too-feared to find opponents in their proper weightclasses. And the result was predictable. Fruity as his comportment often is, Lomachenko gives refreshingly honest postfight analyses, and his saying a corner quittage by an undersized man did not rate was my favorite thing Lomachenko did Saturday.

There’s no need to rehash the action because, over and again, it’s awfully easy to look sensational and do outlandish against a man once you know he can’t hurt you, which is why Canelo and GGG made none of the highlights against each other in September they make against smaller men.

Anyway it would be malpractice to commit any more space to that unexceptional and unsatisfying fare after a weekend when Miguel Roman retired Orlando Salido in a gorgeous attritioning of Salido’s noble spirit. Each man planned to retire if he lost, and neither man said so beforehand, which compares most favorably with the lucrative twofight sendoff HBO and Miguel Cotto just threw Miguel Cotto, no?

Roman probably won’t win his next fight without he barefoots another pathway of hot coals, which is fortunate for us and unfortunate for him. After what Roman just did to Salido at 130 pounds, with a different marketing team and promoter and momentum he might otherwise be allowed to make shortfilms about his reflexes and do otherworldly things against a bantamweight.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

https://www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing/videos/10155318377340756/

The bright lights of Las Vegas shine on the junior lightweight division when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: ORLANDO SALIDO VS. MIGUEL ROMAN, TEVIN FARMER VS. KENICHI OGAWA AND FRANCISCO VARGAS VS. STEPHEN SMITH is seen SATURDAY, DEC. 9 at 10:20 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from Mandalay Bay Events Center. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

The fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

In a night of three 130-pound clashes, the main event features four-time world champion Orlando Salido (44-13-4, 31 KOs) from Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, now living in Phoenix, taking on Miguel Roman (57-12, 44 KOs) of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in a 10-round bout.

With 130 fights between them, veterans Salido and Roman are known for tenacity and fan-friendly styles. Salido was last seen on HBO in June 2016 when he fought Francisco Vargas in an evenly pitched consensus Fight of the Year, resulting in a majority draw decision. Roman was last seen on HBO in January, suffering a memorable hard-fought loss to Takashi Miura.

The co-main event spotlights Philadelphia’s Tevin Farmer (25-4-1, 5 KOs) and Tokyo’s Kenichi Ogawa (22-1, 17 KOs) in a 12-round world title contest. Farmer was on an 18-bout win streak until he was shot in the hand while attempting to break up an altercation at a party. Now recovered, he seeks to resume his championship quest. Fighting in the U.S. for the first time, Ogawa has won 14 straight bouts following his only loss, in 2012. The fight marks the first shot at a world title for either man.

The night opens with Francisco Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs) from Mexico City, Mexico taking on Stephen Smith (25-3, 15 KOs) of Liverpool, UK in a 10-round contest. Vargas looks to get back on a win streak following a majority draw against Orlando Salido and a KO loss to Miguel Berchelt in a brutal fight seen last January on HBO. Smith has knocked out more than half his opponents and is fighting in the U.S. for just the second time.

The action-packed night of boxing action continues on the HBO Latino service starting at 1:05 a.m. ET or immediately following the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast. The HBO Latino Boxing doubleheader (tape-delayed) is headlined by a scheduled 10-round junior lightweight fight between Russia’s Denis Shafikov (38-3-1, 20 KOs) and Nicaragua’s Rene Alvarado (27-8, 19 KOs). The opening bout on HBO Latino Boxing pits undefeated prospect Jaime Mungia (25-0, 21 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico, against Paul Valenzuela (20-6, 14 KOs) of Baja, Mexico, in a scheduled eight-round matchup in the junior middleweight division.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

The executive producer of HBO Sports is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jonathan Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

The abuse of power has once again hit our sport in a dramatic way, as Orlando Salido and Micky Roman will be prevented of accomplishing their dream of winning the WBC title due to a decision taken by a man sitting on a desk mandating terms of their bout.

HBO has mandated their fight to be only for 10 rounds.

The promoters have no say in the matter, and simply take the orders from the Power force of the sport, the TV Network. Tom Loeffler, Fernando Beltran, and Oswaldo Kuchle simply have to bow down and remain quiet and accept to go against the essence of our sport. I wonder how will they look into the eyes of their fighters to explain that they will not be competing for the WBC green belt, that their fight is a simple 10-round fight with no meaning whatsoever. It will be like watching a pre-season game of the NFL.

HBO will be airing a 10 round main event next Saturday night from Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

The WBC will not disrespect the sport and sanction a world title fight for 10 rounds. That would have been easy to do and join the bandwagon, but the WBC Board would not favor such, as there is no real explanation of the change from 12 to 10.

The WBC accepted a request for Salido to fight Miguel Berchelt in a title defense of the WBC super featherweight championship, which was accepted by HBO. Then, when Berchelt injured his hand, the WBC, supporting the card, accepted to sanction a fight for the WBC interim title between Salido and Roman.

I am very sorry for Salido, as he has expressed countless times his dream of becoming WBC champion. I am very sorry for Roman, who has done the same, and I am very sorry for boxing, as a main championship fight has been downgraded to a 10-round fight with nothing at stake.

On to a better note, to what the real world is and matters.

I am sitting in my hotel room in Chicago simply thinking of the great memories that these past four days have given me. The WBC Amateur committee supported a five-state amateur boxing tournament at Cicero Stadium in Illinois.

It was great to be with the kids and their families during this four-day event which crowned some talented boys and girls after sensational matches.

Amateur boxing is so important, and it is often ignored by most in the boxing community and supported by very few. It all starts here, at the amateur level. Muhammad Ali, Ray Leonard, and almost all fighters began their journey with a solid amateur career which led to glory in the Olympics and then into the professional world of boxing. They all started as young kids, hungry and dedicated. Their families following their steps day after day, going to competitions, learning, growing, dreaming.

I saw great talent this past few days and saw the reality of our sport. It is the greatest sport in the world. It was all family gathering around a boxing competition, all fair play and respect.

I had the opportunity to meet with Mike McAtee, executive director of USA Boxing and discussed the future of Amateur boxing in this great country, the USA. I am extremely happy to learn that USA Boxing, which is the entity in charge of regulations of amateur boxing in the USA, shares most of the concerns that most in the world have regarding the practices of AIBA which have hurt the sport in recent years and will not allow such practices to take place in the USA, including the rejection of professionals in the Olympics and making head gear mandatory in all amateur bouts.

WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia was here with us as “The Godfather” of the tournament, and he keeps on making me feel so proud of him every time I see him. He was there for all the fights, enjoyed every second of it, and took pictures and signed autographs with a sincere smile. Mikey is a class act, a true role model and ambassador of our sport.

The boxing commission of Illinois is a true example of excellency and support. Nancy Illg has a tremendous team with Joel Campuzano and all the members who participated in support of this event with passion for the betterment of the youth.

November is gone, so is my mustache!

The WBC dedicates the month of December to HIV/AIDS awareness and Safe Driving!

LAS VEGAS (November 10, 2017) – It was announced today by Zanfer Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Tom Loeffler that the Boxing Capital of the World, Las Vegas, will host another spectacular event Saturday, Dec. 9. Four-Time World Champion in two weight divisions, ORLANDO “Siri” SALIDO (44-13-4, 31 KOs), of Sonora, MX, will face off against fellow Mexican warrior MIGUEL “Mikey” ROMAN (57-12, 44 KOs), of Chihuahua, MX, in a 12-round lightweight clash for the vacant WBC Interim Junior Lightweight Title from the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The bout will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:20 p.m. ET.

Tickets priced at $250, $200, $150, $100 and $50 are On Sale Today At 12:00 p.m. PT and can be purchased at AXS.com or in person at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Box Office.

Also featured on the card is a bout between TEVIN “American Idol” FARMER (25-4-1, 5 KO’s), of Philadelphia, PA as he squares off against KENICHI OGAWA (22-1-0, 17 KO’s), of Tokyo, Japan for the vacant IBF Junior Lightweight World Title. Farmer vs. Ogawa is presented in association with DiBella Entertainment and Teiken Promotions.

Opening the telecast is former WBC World Super Featherweight Champion FRANCISCO “El Bandido” VARGAS (23-1-2, 17 KOs) who will return to the ring once again to make a case for title contention when he takes on former two-time world title challenger STEPHEN “Swifty” SMITH (25-3, 15 KOs) in a 12-round super featherweight fight. Vargas vs. Smith is presented in association with Matchroom Boxing.

“Roman is a good fighter but honestly I don’t care who is in front of me. I always come to fight, this is no exception. I’m rested and ready for another fight,” said Orlando Salido.

Miguel Roman said, “The fans will not be disappointed when I get inside the ring with Salido – I’m going to knock him out. I’m preparing for what could be a tremendous test with Salido because he is a tough fighter. But that doesn’t scare me, and I know that ultimately I will be the fighter to raise his hand in victory.”
Zanfer Promotions’ Fernando Beltran said, “Salido vs. Roman is a great fight. It reminds me a lot of Morales vs. Barrera I: two Mexicans who we knew how they fought and that it would be the Fight of the Year. We have the same feeling for this fight, and we believe we have another Fight of the Year.”

Oscar De La Hoya, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said, “Orlando Salido and Mickey Roman are both fighters who won’t back down in the ring so I expect to see a great event when they enter the ring. Salido is an action-packed fighter who has shown us time and again that he will take two punches to give one. Roman is a warrior who has tremendous power. The fans always come out on top when you have two veteran Mexican fighters that like to brawl so I expect a very entertaining event next month.”

“Francisco Vargas is a fighter that I’ve never worried will be in a boring fight because he brings aggression and action to the ring with every opponent. When he fights Smith on December 9, I think you’ll see a stronger, smarter and more aggressive Vargas than we’ve ever seen before.”

Tom Loeffler said, “We’re looking forward to promoting this sensational triple header featuring three great matchups all in the same weight class with boxing fans being the true winners on December 9.”

“Having promoted numerous events at Mandalay Bay and with Gennady “GGG” Golovkin making it his host hotel for fight week in September, it’s a pleasure to work with their great team once again and with the strong relationships which have been built over many years.”

In June 2016, Salido and Francisco Vargas engaged in the consensus “Fight of the Year” telecast on HBO from the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., as they both clashed in a fight that had the huge crowd on their feet throughout. At the end of the twelve memorable rounds the bout was declared a majority draw.

On March 1, 2014, Salido welcomed current world champion and pound-for-pound contender Vasyl Lomachenko to the professional ranks with a 12-round decision victory in San Antonio, TX. Lomachenko was seeking to capture Salido’s WBO Featherweight World Title in only his second professional bout, but was turned back by the skilled, hard-punching Mexican veteran in San Antonio.

Boxing professionally from the age of 15, the 36-year-old Salido has competed against numerous world champions and top contenders including Mikey Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Roman Martinez, Juan Manuel Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Robert Guerrero.

The 31-year-old fighter, Roman, a professional since 2003, had compiled a 19-bout winning streak prior to facing Japanese warrior Takashi Miura on January 28, 2017 in Indio, Calif. Telecast on HBO, both combatants engaged in a memorable fight through the first 11 rounds before the bout was stopped in Miura’s favor.

Roman followed up the disappointing loss with a 12-round knockout of Nery Saguilian on June 24, 2017 in Chihuahua, MX. The victory earned Roman the vacant WBC FECOMBOX Lightweight Title.

Said Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertaiment, “Tevin Farmer is truly the American Dream. Fighting inside the ring through hard work and uncommon perseverance has created this opportunity for him to challenge for a world title. Outside the ring, Tevin recently suffered a gunshot wound while serving valiantly as a peacemaker during a domestic incident in his hometown this past July.”

“I’m honored to work with Tevin and promote this long-awaited opportunity for him to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a world champion.”

Tevin Farmer said, “I’ve been waiting a long time for an opportunity like this and I’m happy that it’s now here. I’m going to seize the moment and become a world champion on December 9. Training camp has been going as planned. I’m already in shape and we still have a month left before the fight. Ogawa comes to fight and he won’t lay down. He’s coming for the victory, too, but it’s my job to do what I do best and make it look easy.

“I’ve been through a lot of adversity to reach this point in my career and it taught me how to dig deep and become a better person and better fighter. I know not to take this opportunity for granted. I’m bringing the title home to Philadelphia.”

Kenichi Ogawa said, “I am honored to be fighting for the IBF title and very excited that it will be in Las Vegas. I know Tevin Farmer is a tough opponent and I will be ready for him on December 9. This will be my first fight outside of Japan. I am training very hard to put on a good performance in my U.S. debut.”

Victorious in his last seventeen bouts, the 27-year-old southpaw Farmer has taken on all comers throughout his seven-year career, continuing to improve with each fight. Following four victories last year including a sensational victory over contender Ivan Redkach, Farmer defeated Arturo Reyes by decision on April 29, 2017 in his hometown.

Fighting for the first time in the United States, 29-year-old Ogawa is also riding a very impressive 14-bout winning streak dating back to 2012.

With two victories in 2017, most recently Ogawa stopped Hirotsugu Yamamoto on July 1 in Tokyo, Japan.

Said Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, “This is a great opportunity for Stephen Smith on a huge platform. He has put in some great performances for a world title, and badly wants another crack at the crown. A win against Francisco Vargas would 100% do that. It’s a great division and this is a great card on December 9.”

Francisco Vargas said, “Stephen Smith and the fans should expect nothing less than non-stop action from a warrior like me. On December 9, people are going to remember the reasons why I was in two Fight of the Year events as I make a comeback to the ring. I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions, Ralph Heredia Management, Matchroom Boxing and Stephen Smith for putting together this fight that I know the fans will enjoy.”

Said Stephen Smith, “It’s a great opportunity for me. Francisco Vargas always comes to fight, which I’m sure will make for an entertaining clash on December 9. The way he fights, it’s always tough. The last two years he’s been involved in the Fight of the Years against Salido and Miura, which shows the level he’s at and excitement he brings. But you don’t know how many miles are now on his clock. That’s a big unanswered question. We’re both highly ranked with the WBC so at this stage it looks on paper to be the best route back to a world title.”

Vargas, of Mexico City, is the former WBC World Super Featherweight Champion who earned the title in a spectacular Fight of the Year performance against Takashi Miura on the Cotto-Canelo undercard in November 2015. Vargas followed the victory with yet another Fight of the Year contender against Salido in June 2016 that was ruled a majority draw. Vargas will return to the ring to face Roman after the first and only loss in his career against current WBC World Super Featherweight Champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt in January of this year.

The 32-year-old Smith has challenged for a world title in two competitive occasions and faced some of the best fighters in the featherweight and super featherweight divisions. Smith’s taken on current IBF World Featherweight Champion “Lightning” Lee Selby, former IBF Super Featherweight Champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza and former WBA World Super Featherweight Champion Jason “El Canito” Sosa. The native of Liverpool, England will look to earn a third title opportunity if successful against Vargas.

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According to Dan Rafael of eson.com, former world champion Orlando Salido will take on Miguel Roman on December 9th on an HBO Boxing After Dark show at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“I am little disappointed that I am not fighting (Miguel) Berchelt for the WBC belt, but injuries are part of boxing and these things happen all the time,” Salido said at a media lunch in Los Angeles to announce the fight on Wednesday. “But a fight with Miguel Roman is a good fight and it should be an all-action Mexican war between two guys that will fight from start to finish.

“I’m very happy that I will be in the main event in Las Vegas, and I want to give the fans another great fight. I know I need to beat Roman to stay on course to fight for a world championship next year and that is what I intend to do on Dec. 9.”

“Roman is a good fighter, but, honestly, I don’t care who is in front of me. I always come to fight,” Salido said. “This is no exception. I’m rested and ready for another war.”

“I guess in a way I am competing against Lomachenko, who is also on a TV card that night, but anyone that knows about fighting will know which fight will have drama and excitement and which one will have dancing,” said Salido, who turned down offers to fight Lomachenko in a rematch for career-high money.

“I know this is a tough fight and I am going against a tough fighter, but I know what I am capable of and I believe that I will beat Salido,” Roman said. “This is not an easy fight for either one of us, and the biggest winners will be the fans. This is a great opportunity for me and will take full advantage of it.

“I’m going to knock him out. I’m preparing for what could be a savage war with Salido because he is a tough fighter. But that doesn’t scare me and I know that ultimately I will be the fighter to raise his hand in victory.”
“It reminds me a lot of [Erik] Morales versus [Marco Antonio] Barrera I, two Mexicans fighting at Mandalay Bay,” he said of the legendary junior featherweight unification fight in 2000 that served as the first match of their epic trilogy. “We knew it would be fight of the year. We have the same feeling for this fight. We believe we have another fight of the year.”

Miguel Berchelt won the WBC Super Featherweight title with an 11th round stoppage over previously undefeated Francisco Vargas at the Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.

Vargas was bleeding over his left eye beginning in the fourth round. The blood worsened over the course of the fight, and he was a bloody mess until the bout was stopped at 1:43 of round 11.

Berchelt, 129 3/4 lbs of Juarez, MX is now 31-1 with 28 knockouts. Vargas, 129 1/2 lbs of Mexico City is 23-1-2.

Takashi Miura stopped Miguel Roman in the 12th and final round of their junior lightweight bout.

In round five, Miura’s right eye began to swell.

In round ten, Miura dropped Toman with a left to the body. In round eleve, it was a combination to the head that sent Roman down. Miura ended the fight in the final round when another left deposited Roman on the ground for referee Thomas Taylor’s ten count at 53 seconds.

Miura, 129 3/4 lbs of Tokyo, JAP is 31-3-2 with 24 knockouts. Roman, 129 1.2 lbs of Juarez, MEX is 56-12.

HBO kicks off 2017 with an action-packed doubleheader when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: FRANCISCO VARGAS VS. MIGUEL BERCHELT AND TAKASHI MIURA VS. MIGUEL ROMAN is seen SATURDAY, JAN. 28 at 10:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from the Palm Springs Resort Casino in Palm Springs, Cal. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Jan. 29 (10:00 a.m.) and 31 (11:40 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Jan. 29 (2:45 p.m.) and 30 (12:00 a.m.)

The fight will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

Undefeated super featherweight champion Francisco Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) makes his 2017 debut against challenger Miguel Berchelt (30-1, 27 KOs) in a much-anticipated 12-round title showdown. Following his victory over Takashi Miura in the BWAA’s “2015 Fight of the Year,” Vargas, 31, turned in another crowd-pleasing performance in his June 2016 fight against Orlando Salido, which ended in a majority draw and was the consensus “Fight of the Year” selection. The Mexico City native has quickly become a must-see attraction due to his relentless, come-forward fighting style, which he will need to get past his younger opponent.

Berchelt, 25, of Merida, Mexico, holds an impressive 16-fight knockout streak entering this title bout, which marks his first appearance on HBO and second outside Mexico.

In the co-main event of the evening, Takashi Miura (30-3-2, 23 KOs), Vargas’ opponent in the 2015 Fight of the Year, faces battle-tested vet Miguel Roman (56-11, 43 KOs) in a super featherweight 12-round slugfest. Tokyo’s Miura, 32, aims to use his aggressive southpaw style to beat Roman and earn another shot at the title he lost to Vargas. Roman, 31, of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, enters the fight having notched six impressive knockout victories in 2015 and 2016.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Johnathan Evans.

® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.