Standing nowhere near each other at a recent press event conducting interviews about their upcoming fight, junior lightweight world titleholder Miguel Berchelt and mandatory challenger Miguel “Mickey” Roman had an identical take on what their showdown would look like.
“It’s going to be memorable, like Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez. All those big fights,” Roman said through a translator. “People will remember it in the future because when two Mexicans fight they know that they’re going to give everything in the ring.”
Berchelt had not heard Roman’s comments when he had this to say, through a different interpreter: “Absolutely, without a doubt, it will be a memorable fight. When two Mexicans go into the ring there is always a guarantee of a great show.”
And so there are lofty expectations from fans and the fighters when Berchelt, who will be making the fourth defense of his 130-pound world title, squares off with Roman in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on Saturday (ESPN+, 9:30 p.m. main card with preliminary bout streaming beginning at 6 p.m. ET) at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
“I guarantee this (fight) will be considered, once it’s finished, a contender for fight of the year,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “This is no ordinary fight. This is going to be a great, memorable fight. The two Miguels are going to go at it. 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.”
Berchelt (34-1, 30 KOs), 26, and Roman (60-12, 47 KOs), 32, have been gearing up for this fight for awhile.
“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.”
Miguel Berchelt
The final hurdle came on June 23. That is when Berchelt, who won the belt from countryman Francisco Vargas by a cut-induced 11th-round knockout in January 2017, had a hometown defense in Merida and knocked out former featherweight world titlist Jonathan Victor Barros in the third round at about the same time that Roman, in his hometown of Ciudad Juarez, won his fourth fight in a row as he knocked out Michel Marcano in the second round.
Now Berchelt and Roman are set to face each other.
“I’m going for the knockout and I know that Mickey will be as well, so it’s going to be a great fight,” Berchelt said. “I am coming to give a good fight and defend what is mine. I promise a great show. Blood, knockouts, and emotion are guaranteed.”
Berchelt, more so than Roman, has a bit of a chip on his shoulder going into the bout.
“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,” he said. “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.”
“It’s going to be memorable, like Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez. All those big fights. People will remember it in the future because when two Mexicans fight they know that they’re going to give everything in the ring.”
Miguel Roman
Indeed, Berchelt will fight fighting in what amounts to Roman’s hometown since Ciudad Juarez sits just across the United States-Mexico border from El Paso. Roman is aiming to become his hometown’s first boxing world titleholder.
“It’s definitely a great motivation for me,” Roman said of fighting so close to home. “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. 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.
“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.”
Roman, despite 12 defeats, is getting his third crack at a world title. In 2011, he challenged Barros for a featherweight belt and lost a unanimous decision. In 2012, he suffered a fifth-round knockout challenging Antonio DeMarco for a lightweight title.
“He deserves the opportunity because he beat Orlando Salido, but he’s going to be in front of a great champion and this title is not going to go anywhere,” said Berchelt, referring to Roman’s stirring ninth-round knockout victory over the former junior lightweight and featherweight titlist.
Roman said that though he lost previous world title fights, he had taken them on short notice and had not had proper time to prepare. That is not the case with the fight against Berchelt.
“The difference between this fight and the previous ones, the other two challenges that I had is that this opportunity I earned,” Roman said. “The other two were like last-minute calls. Three weeks, four weeks and you saw what happened. Now, after beating Orlando Salido, I think I earned this opportunity to go for the title. I’m very excited. I earned this one. This is what I have dreamed about since I became a boxer and now it’s happening. Definitely, I’m going to conquer this title. I deserve it.”
Berchelt was not impressed by Roman’s short-notice losses in his other title fights. “That’s his problem,” he said. “I hope he prepared himself this time because I’m going to take his head off.”
In the co-feature, former two-time world title challenger Miguel Marriaga (26-3, 22 KOs), 31, of Colombia, will go for his second win in a row when he takes on Jose Estrella (20-14-1, 14 KOs), 28, of Mexico, in a 10-round featherweight fight.
The undercard will also feature junior lightweight prospect Robson Conceicao (9-0, 5 KOs), 29, a 2016 Brazilian Olympic gold medalist, facing Joey Laviolette (9-1, 5 KOs), 30, of Nova Scotia, in an eight-round bout and lightweight Saul “Neno” Rodriguez (21-0-1, 15 KOs), 25, of Riverside, California, who has re-signed with Top Rank, returning from a 20-month layoff, to fight Claudio Tapia (28-18-4, 13 KOs), 38, of Argentina, in a 10-round bout.