Berchelt defends his WBC title by ninth round stoppage!
This fight on paper had all the makings of a possible “fight of the year” candidate. While it may not have delivered in that manner, Miguel Berchelt vs Muguel Roman was indeed action packed!
The Recap
From the start of the first round, both men displayed a high volume of punches. Roman supplied relentless pressure while Berchelt mixed up his attack. At times the champion would be on his back-foot shooting the jab while at other points he fought at mid-range distance using a prolific body attack.
Speaking of the body attack, that would be key for Berchelt. Roman did an excellent job of making his opponent pay for lunging forward. However, he would lose the battle at mid-range and on the inside simply because Berchelt targeted his body beautifully.
By round five, Roman looked like he had gone fifteen rounds due to the damage he sustained to the body. Nevertheless, he continued to push himself as he knows no other way but to come forward. Berchelt has the ability to box while applying angles through pivoting, however, Roman’s pressure was good enough to derail him from applying those skills.
Unfortunately for the challenger, the champion has a multi-dimensional style. He dropped Roman twice in the sixth round after teeing-off on his opponents body then finishing with a right-hook to the head. Roman rose only to be dropped again moments later. He would survive the round, but it was evident the knockout would come soon.
After the seventh round, Rudy Hernandez (trainer for Roman) stated he would stop the fight if his fighter didn’t do something in the next round. The statement seemed to revitalize Roman as he started round eight pushing Berchelt back constantly.
The success would be short-lived as Berchelt adjusted well, scoring another knockdown in round nine. The heart of the challenger would not let him surrender as he rose to beat the count for a third time. However, a flurry from the champion while Roman was against the ropes moments later would prompt the referee to stop the fight.
Post Fight
Berchelt would make his fourth defense of the WBC title. In the post-fight interview he mentioned Roman as being his toughest title defense to date because of his massive heart. He also mentioned he wants to unify the division against either Tevin Farmer, Gervonta Davis or Alberto Machado.
We will see what is in store for him in the future!
By: EJ Williams
