Notebook: Roman faces Espinoza because 'I know champions are trying to avoid me'
De La Hoya, Holyfield fights move; U.S. Olympic team set; Buatsi with Hunter; Mayer defense official; Quick hits; Show and tell
Junior featherweight Daniel Roman not only accomplished a lifelong goal of winning a world title in 2017 — going on the road to Japan to do so, by the way — but he also unified a pair of 122-pound belts in 2019 with a hard-fought majority decision over TJ Doheny.
But in his fifth defense, unbeaten Murodjon Akhmadaliev claimed a razor-close split decision, 115-113 for him on two scorecards and 115-113 for Roman on the third, to take the belts. Roman is striving to get back into another title opportunity.
Since the title loss, he has fought just once, taking a unanimous decision against former bantamweight titlist Juan Carlos Payano in September on the Showtime PPV card that featured Jermell and Jermall Charlo in separate title fights.
Roman will step into the ring again when he faces Ricardo Espinoza in a 10-round junior featherweight bout that has action written all over it in the co-feature of the Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET) at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Roman (28-3-1, 10 KOs), 31, of Los Angeles, is hungry to put on a good show and force his way back into a title fight.
“I’m a former unified champion and I’m still overlooked,” he said. “I’m still the guy who you have to beat at (122 pounds). I’m going against a great opponent. He has a high knockout rate, so I have to fight a smart fight. Props to him for taking the fight, but I’m not overlooking him. Everyone is a threat when they get in that ring.
“I know that the champions are trying to avoid me and skip over me for other fights. But I deserve respect and I’m going to show why they’re avoiding me on Saturday. I’m trying to make a statement on Saturday night. I’m going to show everyone that I’m still at the championship level.”
Espinoza (25-3, 21 KOs), 23, of Mexico, has won two fights in a row since a 12th-round knockout loss John Riel Casimero in an interim bantamweight title bout in April 2019, after which Espinoza moved up in weight.
He is aiming to bump Roman off course to another title shot and secure one for himself.
“Danny Roman has fought some really quality opponents that are high in the rankings, but this is my time,” Espinoza said. “This is when I show that I can step up in competition and prove that I belong with the best. The reason why I think I’m going to win this fight, more than anything, is because I believe in myself. I have a great team behind me and if I have faith in myself, all good things are going to happen from now on.
“Danny Roman is definitely a great opponent and I feel like my preparation and training can showcase why I can be considered one of the best in the division. Saturday night will be a great showcase for me.”
In the main event, Luis Nery (31-0, 24 KOs), 26, of Mexico, and Brandon Figueroa (21-0-1, 16 KOs), 24, of Weslaco, Texas, meet to unify their junior featherweight belts and Sacramento, California’s Xavier Martinez (15-0, 11 KOs), 23, and Juan Carlos Burgos (34-4-2, 21 KOs), 33, of Mexico, square in the 10-round junior lightweight opener.
De La Hoya, Holyfield moving
Triller Fight Club pay-per-view bouts involving the return of six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya and former four-time heavyweight titlist Evander Holyfield are moving to new dates.
De La Hoya announced during the Jake Paul-Ben Askren press conference last month that he was coming out of 13-year retirement to fight an opponent to be determined on July 3. However, Triller announced this week that the Golden Boy’s return will be delayed until September with no reason given for the switch.
Also, Holyfield’s six-round bout with fellow Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin McBride, who sent Tyson into retirement in 2005, is also on the move.
The fight was announced as being set for the undercard of unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez’s mandatory defense against George Kambosos Jr., which is scheduled for June 19 in Miami. However, Holyfield-McBride will no longer be on that card. Triller said it would instead take place as part an event in August.
Buatsi and Hunter
Light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi (13-0, 11 KOs), 28, of England, is excited to have his first fight under the guidance of famed trainer Virgil Hunter.
Buatsi faces Daniel Blenda Dos Santos (15-0, 8 KOs), 30, of France, at AO Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday (DAZN, 1 p.m. ET)
Buatsi traveled to the Oakland Bay Area to train with Hunter, who is best known for training Hall of Famer Andre Ward.
“I met Virgil Hunter at the first (Anthony) Joshua versus (Andy) Ruiz fight in New York in 2019,” Buatsi said. “I went over to him to introduce myself and he told me he knew who I was. I told him I was going to come and train with him one day, and he said the door to his gym was open whenever I was ready. After my last fight in October I said, ‘I’m out of here’. I’ve come out here to learn more and add things to my game.
“It’s totally different living out here. It’s great, it’s nice and the views are amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’m here just for boxing. The main goal is purely to come out here to gain experience and learn as much as I can. It's going really well so far.
“I wasn’t really watching a lot of professional boxing in the amateurs. I started to watch it when I was about 17 or 18. I came across Andre Ward and started watching his fights, listening out for what he was being told in the corner and stuff like that. I knew then Virgil was a good trainer. I said at the time I’d love to be trained by Virgil, but I didn’t ever think in a million years I’d be in the States training with him. Sometimes in the corner, it’s not really even boxing advice that he’s giving me. It’s just something totally different. It’s linked to boxing, so I’ll do it and I’ll be like, ‘cool, that worked’. It’s a whole different spin and approach from him but I’m really enjoying it.”
Hunter is convinced that Buatsi, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, has the talent to reach the top of boxing.
“I think he’s a major talent,” Hunter said. “I think he has a tremendous upside. I’m hoping I can do everything to cultivate that and turn him into a world champion. I think Joshua will apply some of the thing we worked on and show Saturday night that he’s been a good student.
“Anytime that you have the opportunity to fight a medalist from the Olympics, that medal has a bulls eye on his back. He’s going to get a hungry opponent, that opponent is going to be dead serious because he knows it can change the trajectory of his career. We don’t have much footage on Dos Santos, but we take him serious on what we have seen, that he is a good fighter and to be taken serious. That’s how we’re approaching the fight.”
U.S. Olympic team set
The 2021 U.S. Olympic boxing team was named this week and it will include six fighters — two men and four women — who are ticketed to compete in Tokyo one year after the 2020 Olympics were called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The men are super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. of Tulare, California, and welterweight Delante Johnson of Cleveland. The women are lightweight Rashida Ellis of Lynn, Massachusetts; flyweight Ginny Fuchs of Houston; middleweight Naomi Graham of Fayetteville, North Carolina; and welterweight Oshae Jones of Toledo, Ohio.
The head coach is Billy Walsh, who was also the head coach for the 2016 Rio Games.
The Olympic boxing tournament is slated to begin July 24. The selections were made by the Boxing Task Force rankings because qualifying tournaments were canceled amid the pandemic. The six-person squad is the fewest American boxers since 1936.
Mayer defense official
Mikaela Mayer (14-0, 5 KOs), 30, of Los Angeles, will make the first defense of her WBO junior lightweight title against Erica Farias (26-4, 10 KOs), 36, of Argentina, on June 19 (ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Top Rank announced Friday, confirming a Fight Freaks Unite report from two weeks ago.
“Although I had sought a unification bout, Farias is a worthy opponent who will make for an entertaining, action-packed fight,” Mayer said. “She brings excellent credentials and has only lost to some of best women boxing today. I’m ready and eager to pass another test and showcase the skills that will eventually make me your undisputed champion.”
The bout will be the co-feature of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card headlined unified bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue’s mandatory defense against Michael Dasmarinas.
“Mikaela Mayer is the future of women’s boxing, and I have no doubt she’s going to shine in her first world title defense,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “She wants all of the top names, but she must first get past a tough former world champion in Erica Farias.”
Mayer claimed the vacant title by near-shutout decision against Ewa Brodnicka on Inoue’s last undercard on Oct. 31. Brodnicka had been stripped of the belt for missing weight so only Mayer was eligible to win the vacant title.
Also announced for the card was a 10-round featherweight fight between Adam Lopez (15-2, 6 KOs), 25, of Glendale, California, and former junior featherweight titlist Isaac Dogboe (21-2, 15 KOs), 26, of Ghana, which will air as part of the preliminary stream on ESPN+ prior to the main card.
Quick hits
Weights from Carson, California, for Saturday night’s PBC card on Showtime: Luis Nery 122 pounds, Brandon Figueroa 121.2 (for Nery’s WBC and Figueroa’s WBA “regular” junior featherweight title); Daniel Roman 122, Ricardo Espinoza 121.6; Xavier Martinez 131.6, Juan Carlos Burgos 131.8; Jose Valenzuela 136.6, Nelson Hampton 137; Gabriela Fundora 113.8, Jazmin Valverde 112.6; Justin Cardona 133.6, James De Herrera 133.6.
Per the California State Athletic commission, official contract purses for Saturday’s PBC/Showtime card: Luis Nery $250k, Brandon Figueroa $650k; Daniel Roman $100k, Ricardo Espinoza $27k; Xavier Martinez $60k, Juan Carlos Burgos $20k; Jose Valenzuela $8k, Nelson Hampton $8k; Gabriela Fundora $800, Jazmin Valverde $800; Justin Cardona $4k, James De Herrera $3,500.
Promoter Lewkowicz said he has finalized a fight between 6-foot-6 southpaw junior middleweight contender Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora (17-0-1, 12 KOs), 23, of Coachella, California, and Sergio Garcia (33-0, 14 KOs), 28, of Spain, to face each other in a 12-rounder that will take place on a Premier Boxing Champions card on Fox. “These are the kind of fights the public wants to see,” Lewkowicz said. “Two undefeated top contenders facing each other with their perfect records on the line. I’m so proud to have been able to make this terrific fight and I will announce the date and venue very shortly. I congratulate both fighters for being the kinds of real fighters who will face anyone any time without worrying about their undefeated status. This great fight will be a war.”
The WBA has ordered a purse bid for the fight between unified junior featherweight titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev (9-0, 7 KOs), 26, of Uzbekistan, and mandatory challenger Ronny Rios (33-3, 16 KOs), 31, of Santa Ana, California. It is scheduled for May 24 and will be held via Zoom video conference. Minimum bid is $150,000 with Akhmadaliev entitled 75 of the winning offer and Rios 25 percent. The sides could still make a deal before the bids are unsealed.
Former Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Chad Johnson, 43, will fight Brian Maxwell in a four-round cruiserweight exhibition on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition on June 6 (Showtime PPV) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships announced the match on social media. Maxwell, 33, is 0-1 as a pro boxer, 0-3 in BKFC bouts and 2-3 in MMA fights.
Venezuela’s Carlos Canizales (22-0, 7 KOs) will defend his secondary junior flyweight title for the third time when he faces Esteban Bermudez (13-3-2, 9 KOs), of Mexico, in the main event of “Boxeo EstrellaTV” on May 28 (EstrellaTV, 10 p.m. ET) in Mexico City, organizers announced. Canizales has not fought since a May 2019 defense against Sho Kimura in Japan. In the 10-round co-feature, junior featherweight Belmar Preciado (21-3-1, 14 KOs), of Colombia, will face Mexico’s David Carmona (21-6-5, 9 KOs).
Top Rank formally announced what Fight Freaks Unite reported two weeks ago, that New Jersey’s Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) will take on his stiffest test to date when he meets former two-division world titleholder Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (28-3, 13 KOs), of Puerto Rico, in the 10-round junior welterweight co-feature on Top Rank’s card June 12 (ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) headlined by the vacant WBO interim junior lightweight title bout between Shakur Stevenson and Jeremiah Nakathila at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Show and tell
The great Felix Trinidad had emerged from a 2½ retirement in 2004 to beat down Ricardo Mayorga in an exciting eighth-round knockout win but when Trinidad’s team put together his next fight seven months later he wasn’t facing a straight-ahead brawler with limited skills. He was facing arguably the best fighter pound-for-pound at the time in unified junior middleweight world champion and fellow Hall of Famer Winky Wright, who was fresh off back-to-back wins over Shane Mosley and moving up to middleweight to face Tito. In the end, skills pay the bills and Wright was too much for Trinidad. The southpaw Wright jabbed Trinidad’s head off the entire fight in one of the most supreme one-sided performances I have ever witnessed at ringside in a shutout decision victory that sent Trinidad back into retirement. Wright’s masterpiece against Trinidad was on May 14, 2005 — 16 years ago on Friday. Here’s the HBO PPV poster in my collection.
Roman photo: Kyte Monroe/Thompson Boxing; Buatsi/Hunter photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Mayer photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Great updates. Even though Tito was not in his prime, it would have made no difference. Winky was so good. Thanks for all of the great info. I am SHOnuff ready for tomorrow's card.
I thought Roman beat Akhmadaliev.