Daniel Roman bloodies Ricardo Espinoza Franco; wins unanimous decision
The bout between former unified super bantamweight champion Daniel Roman (28-3-1, 10KOs) and hard-hitting contender Ricardo Espinoza Franco (25-3, 21KOs) started off at a rapid pace!
Franco, looking to secure the biggest win of his career, came out in round one guns blazing, unloading hard right and left hands on Roman. Roman was relegated to holding. The pace would slow down as the former two-belt champion got into a rhythm. He would start to get the timing down in the second round and successfully counter Franco with right hands and lead left uppercuts. Still, the first half of the fight was close.
ROMAN SHOWS CLASS!
What was once a close fight was anything but that from round five on. The gap in skill would be on display in a major way. Meanwhile, Franco showed heart as he came forward. However, he simply could not stay out of the way of the incoming offense from Roman. In round six, Roman would really turn up the punishment! Landing thundering body shots and uppercuts, the reality started to set in for Franco, who was simply outclassed by his more talented and experienced adversary.
In the eighth round, a left uppercut from Roman would bloody the nose of Franco. Second-half domination would secure a unanimous decision victory for the WBC Super Bantamweight mandatory. The scores would be 97-93 and 98-92 twice.
After the fight, Daniel Roman made it clear that he wants the winner of the Luis Nery v Brandon Figueroa bout next.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
