Danny Roman Snatches WBA Super Bantamweight Crown in Japan

Published

7 years ago

September 5, 2017

People are always saying “with hard work and determination you can do anything.”

Daniel Roman just proved it.

Behind a steady work rate and precise punching Roman (23-2-1, 9 KOs) knocked out WBA super bantamweight world champion Shun Kubo (12-1, 9 KOs) in front of that fighter’s fans in Kyoto, Japan. The 27-year-old is now the world champion.

“I said before the fight that I didn’t intend for this to go to the judges,” Roman said. “The plan was to knock him out and take the WBA title in dominating fashion.”

The road to Japan was not an easy one.

Now living in Garden Grove, Calif. the rather soft-spoken Roman trains in the small town community gym of Maywood. It is there where he works daily on his craft among others just like himself. It’s a daily grind and that gym is famous for its fierce sparring in the lower weight divisions.

Roman’s pro debut took place seven years at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif. It’s a small venue where Thompson Boxing Promotions has built a fan clientele in the area known as the “Inland Empire.”

Ever since Thompson Boxing started in that area it’s uncovered numerous world champions. Despite working in the same region that serves as base for Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, the much smaller boxing promoter has a history of finding gems overlooked by others.

Roman is one of them.

In his debut he knocked out his opponent in 43 seconds. It was hardly enough time to get comfortable in a seat to watch. But his next fight ended in a draw.

During his fourth pro bout Roman’s team accepted a match against Japan’s Takashi Okada at the Doubletree Hotel at 116 pounds. It was a good match on paper and evenly matched in the boxing ring. But Okada was slightly more advanced in his fighting and won by split decision on July 2011.

Journey back from defeat

That first defeat could have spelled the end for Roman. Many fighters after taking their first pro loss seem to lose that certain edge.

Eddie Gonzalez has trained and managed Roman from the beginning. It was around the time Roman suffered his first loss that I accidentally came across Gonzalez in a promoter’s small office in uptown Whittier.

That afternoon Gonzalez was asking the promoter to put Roman on a fight card and asked what I thought of his fighter. I remember vividly thinking about what to say that day.

Most of the time it’s rather easy to spot a future star. Thompson Boxing had discovered and signed a number of future world champions and contenders like Yonnhy Perez, Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley, Josesito Lopez, Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera, Darleys Perez and Jhonatan “Momo” Romero.

But Roman was more difficult to assess.

Unlike the others Roman didn’t possess the blazing speed, impressive power or defensive wizardry that stands out like a neon sign. But he has a quiet determination and confidence that you could see as he fought numerous times at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario or the Omega Products International in Corona.

One thing that slowly became obvious over time was his accuracy. When Roman punched he hit his target time after time. Where others flailed and unleashed furious combinations in hopes of hitting the target, Roman has the pinpoint accuracy of a laser-guided missile.

He seldom misses.

In 2014, after losing to Riverside’s Juan Reyes, a volume puncher with an incredible work rate, something clicked in Roman. It was a subtle change that showed in dominating wins that left no doubt.

Wins over Jonathan Arrellano, Christopher Martin, Erik Ruiz and Enrique Quevedo were most impressive because these guys are capable of defeating anyone.

SoCal domination

Aside from being the movie and music capitol of the world, Southern California has become famous for developing many of the best super bantamweights in the world. They’re as plenty as the grains of sand on the beaches and have replaced the orange groves and grapevines that used to dominate the landscape.

Super bantamweights are everywhere in So Cal.

Rival promoters have gathered up super bantamweight prospects by the dozen and all are poised to snatch the various world titles. Fighters like Jojo Diaz, Jessie Magdaleno, Randy Caballero, Nonito Donaire, Rico Ramos, Cesar Juarez and Diego De La Hoya.

Quietly, the smallest of the promotion companies confidently guided Roman to carefully plotted landmarks. After defeating back to back undefeated opponents, Thompson Boxing realized he was primed and ready to torpedo the world champion.

Kyoto

You never know how a fighter is going to react fighting overseas in another country or another state for that matter. Roman had never even visited Las Vegas which is a mere 300 miles from his home, let alone Kyoto, Japan which is 5600 miles from Los Angeles.

Thompson Boxing had previously taken Juan Carlos Burgos to Japan only to be derailed in the island nation by Hozumi Hasegawa in October 2010.

But somehow it was clear that Roman was a different type of fighter. Maybe it’s his trainer or maybe it’s his methodology or perhaps a combination of both. Roman figures out a way to put the pieces together to solve the puzzle.

The champion Kubo had a four-inch height advantage and possessed knockout power. Perhaps the most glaring aspect is his southpaw stance and mobility that he uses to offset attacks.

It looked to be an overwhelming task.

Roman allowed the taller and mobile world champion Kubo to dictate the pace and tempo in the first round. As Kubo fired jabs Roman parried and seemed to measure the distance needed.

In the second round Roman moved in with more conviction including thudding shots to the body that did not miss. Despite the incoming fire Roman was able to move in between the punches and connect to the body with vicious authority.

That became the formula for the remainder of the fight.

Kubo tried desperately to find an antidote for Roman’s body shots. After sustaining several withering blows by Roman, the champion decided to return fire with his own body shots. But well placed counters to the head and body stopped that.

Roman dissected Kubo with more body shots mixed with blasts to the head. After numerous blows to the head the champion was sent to the floor early in the seventh round. He got up bravely and survived the round for more than two minutes. If you want to see a warrior respond, Kubo showed all that by surviving the knockdown and mustering up a counter-attack that kept Roman from finishing the fight. But the end was near.

In the eighth round both traded punches evenly when Roman delivered a strong right to the midsection that paralyzed Kubo for a second as Roman sent another right to the head to send the Japanese champion to the floor again. He beat the count.

The ninth round was just protocol as Roman finished the depleted fighter with more body and heat combinations that snapped back the head of Kubo. Referee Silvestre Abainza wisely ended the fight at 1:21 as the ropes kept Kubo from falling. Roman’s corner jumped into the ring to hoist their champion.

“We’re incredibly proud of Danny Roman,” said Ken Thompson, president of Thompson Boxing Promotions. “In our eyes, Danny is the ultimate champion. He never backs down from a challenge and tonight he showed that he belongs among the best in the 122-pound division.”

It’s a long way back from Japan but this time the return journey will be a happy one for Roman and his promoters.

“We never had any doubt that Danny would win the WBA title,” said Alex Camponovo, matchmaker and general manager at Thompson Boxing Promotions. “He looked unbelievable against Kubo. We believe his best years are still ahead of him. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the champions in this division.”

In an area rife with super bantamweights a new king has been crowned and Danny Roman is his name.

Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science, where the best boxing writers write.

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David A. Avila

Related Topics:Alex Camponovo Boxing danny roman David A. Avila Eddie Gonzalez josesito lopez Ken Thompson Shun Kubo Takashi Okada The Sweet Science TSS

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

3 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

TSS Press

Haney and Garcia: Bipolar Opposites

One young man flew halfway around the world to take on a world champion in his own living room; not once, but twice. The other young man quit prior to one fight, and then again during another one.

The first guy mentioned is an obedient son of an ultra-streetwise father. The type of parent where, if he doesn’t know the answer (and more times than not he most likely does), he will know where to find it. The second guy doesn’t appear to have that quality guidance scenario going on for him, which is probably for the best, because he believes he has all the answers.

The first guy is on record as saying he wants to go down in boxing history as an all-time great. The other guy? He decided not to continue in a fight while he was still sporting an undefeated record. You may think to yourself if there was ever a time to soldier through, right?

Then yesterday, that same guy missed making weight by 3.2 pounds, and seemed to be more than fine with it, to the point where he actually appeared to be quite pleased with himself.

If you haven’t heard, Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are going to share a boxing ring in a twelve round go for God knows what will be at stake by the time they actually punch off. The fact that no one from Garcia’s team has stepped in and rescued him from these unfolding events, his own personal well-being, and/or not to mention Devin Haney is, well, troubling in and of itself.

Back in the amateur days, the record shows they split six fights. They were boys back then, so it means zero. If anything, you’d want to be the older of the two, and Ryan had over a three-month age advantage. If you’ve only been on the planet for a total of 120 months or so, every extra month could be a big enough difference in strength and development. Now as world class professionals in their prime? That’s different. Younger is always better. Devin is that guy.

Haney and Garcia fought six times for free but will fight only once as professionals. Then one of them will continue with their march for historic greatness, while the other will head back to Kamp Krazy, where he’s the current Mayor.

It’s never smart to lay 8-1, 9-1 in boxing. And if you see taking Garcia as a value bet with +500 to +600 and beyond, you don’t understand value and you evidently don’t like money.

There is, however, a wagering opportunity here.

Total Rounds: Fight doesn’t go 10.5 rounds.

Take anything over +125. It’s worth a unit on a scale of 5. Logically, there are a lot of ways to cash this ticket: legitimate victory, meltdown, catching lightning in a bottle, etc. Or simply the exiting stage left of a guy who may be already plotting his next career move.

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