No Crying In Boxing

A six-year-old Danny Roman came home in tears, having gotten into an altercation with another kid during a pickup soccer game. 

“Before I started boxing as a kid, I played soccer. I got into a fight after a kid took the ball away from me. I went to get it back and he beat me up. I came back home crying and my Dad said, ‘It’s time for you to learn how to defend yourself,’” said Roman of his father, Jose. 

“The next day, he sent me to a boxing gym. I was mad because I had no idea about boxing and wanted to do something else. At that time, my brother [Miguel Roman] and my cousin [Jose Miguel Roman] were boxers.  Little by little, I learned the basics of how to jump rope, stand and throw a punch. At around 8 years old, I started sparring.”

Roman posted a 60-10 record and was “a four-time national champion as an amateur,” according to trainer Eddie Gonzalez, including a title in the Junior Olympics, a Silver Gloves crown in 2005 and a National PAL Tournament championship in 2006 before turning pro as a 20-year-old in October 2010.

Nicknamed “The Baby Face Assassin” by Gonzalez, Roman’s professional debut was a 43-second stoppage of Christian Cruz, who entered their bout at 3-1 (3 KOs) as Roman went 8-2-1 (3 KOs) over his initial 11 bouts through 2013.

In 2011 Roman battled to a four-round draw with Jensen Ramirez (February), earned a four-round unanimous decision victory over Alfredo Madrigal (May) and fell by four-round split-decision to Takashi Okada (July), who improved to 4-0-1 (1 KO).

Roman won three bouts each in 2012 and 2013, the former comprising a fourth-round TKO of Jesse Adame (March) and consecutive four-round unanimous decisions over Juan Sandoval (August) and Juan Gomez Torres (October). 

The next year began with back-to-back four-round unanimous decisions over Francisco Camacho (April) and Manuel Rubalcava (June) followed by a second-round knockout of Jose Iniguez (August) and an eight-round unanimous decision loss to Juan Reyes (October), the latter rising to 10-1-2 (1 KO).

“Nothing has been given to Danny,” said Gonzalez. “As a professional if you go through his boxing record from the beginning of his career, you will see that every fight we’ve put Danny in was difficult.”

Roman went 9-0 (2 KOs) over the next two years, with 2014 comprising second-round stoppages of Jose Angel Cota (March) and Pedro Melo (August) as well as eight-round unanimous decisions over Jonathan Arrellano (June) and Jonathan Alcantara (September).

A five-victory 2015 was made up of eight-round unanimous decisions over Jose Miguel Tamayo (March), Giovanni Caro (April) and Christopher Martin (May) and then-career-best 10-round unanimous decisions over Daniel Noriega (July) and Erik Ruiz (September).

Championship-Winning Power

Roman’s knockouts rose with his level of opposition as he went 6-0 (4 KOs) through 2016 and 2017 and vanquished three undefeated fighters in a row, the latter year ending with consecutive ninth-round TKOs of Adam Lopez (January) and southpaw WBA 122-pound champion Shun Kubo (September).

Lopez entered at 16-0-1 (8 KOs) but was floored in the fourth round, and Kubo at 12-0 (9 KOs) before being floored twice in front of his hometown fans at Shimazu Arena in Kyoto, Japan. 

“Being a world champion was something I dreamed about,” said Roman. “That was the culmination of all of the hard work and the sacrifices that I made to that point.”

In 2016, Roman followed back-to-back fifth-round knockouts of Ramiro Robles (February) and former title challenger Christian Esquival (May) with 10- and eight-round unanimous decisions over Enrique Quevedo (August) and Marlon Olea (November), the latter of whom entered at 12-0 (11 KOs).

“When Danny beat Lopez, his career took off,” said Gonzalez. “Danny’s a very disciplined fighter who has learned from his mistakes and continued to sacrifice everything toward his goal of becoming an all-time great.”

“The Baby-Faced Assassin” made four title defenses and defeated a pair of unbeaten fighters over the course of 2018 and 2019 against rivals whose combined records were 87-2 (56 KOs). 

In the former year, Roman scored consecutive unanimous decisions over Ryo Matsumoto (February) and Moises Flores (June) before earning a one-knockdown, 10th-round TKO over Gavin McDonnell (October).

Roman won all but four rounds on the judge’s cards against Matsumoto, who entered at 21-1 (19 KOs). Flores entered at 25-0 (17 KOs), and McDowell, 20-1 (5 KOs), being stopped for the first time in his career. 

Irish-born southpaw and IBF title holder TJ Doheny entered his April 2019 unification bout at 21-0 (15 KOs), but was dropped once each in the second and 12th rounds by Roman, who overcame a headbutt-induced cut over his right eye to win a majority decision. 

“There’s a fighter in me,” said Roman. “But I’ve also learned that you can’t brawl all the time. Boxing’s about hitting and not getting hit.”

Dethroned But Not Defeated

Roman lost his crowns by disputed split-decision in January to 25-year-old southpaw Murdjon Akhmadaliev, who failed to earn his fifth straight stoppage victory while tying Leon Spinks’ record for the fastest male to become a unified champion in his eighth fight.

A 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Uzbekistan, Akhmadaliev (8-0, 6 KOs out-landed Roman in overall punches (153-to-150) to become his nation’s first unified title winner, even as he trailed in power shots connected (131-to-114).

“I still say that Doheny was the toughest fight of my career so far,” said Roman, whose injured left shoulder forced the fight’s initial postponement from September 2019. “Having an injury like that affects you mentally. Maybe that bothered me a little bit through the training leading up to the fight."

Roman returns to action on September 26 against former champion Juan Carlos Payano (21-3, 9 KOs) of the Dominican Republic, representing his third straight southpaw opponent. 

“With Kubo, Doheny and Akhmadaliev all being southpaw, at this point, I think I’ve gotten used to them. After winning this fight, my next goal is to refocus on winning another title,” said Roman.

 “We’re ranked very highly by all of the organizations, and I want to fight the best. I’m a throw-back fighter, so bring on all of the title belts. I’d like a rematch with Akhmadaliev, but I’m just ready to fight and won’t back down from anybody.”

Roman returned to the ring on September 26, 2020, on SHOWTIME PPV against dangerous former world champion, Juan Carlos Payano. Payano controlled the action early but Roman slowly seized control and never let go. The former unified champion pulled away, winning a 12-round unanimous decision.

Roman continues to impress. On May 15, 2021, he dominated Ricardo Espinoza Franco, winning a wide 10-round unanimous decision at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. However, he would lose to the best fighter in the division on June 4, 2022, dropping a wide unanimous decision to undefeated, unified WBC/WBO World Super Bantamweight Champion Stephen Fulton Jr. 

“There’s no excuse,” said Roman, who dropped to 29-4-1 with 10 knockouts. “I think this fight proves who the best 122-pound fighter in the division is. Fulton did that tonight. He proved it. I wish him the best and I hope he goes and achieves what I couldn’t achieve. Go become undisputed. Like I said, this fight proved who is the best in the division. Fulton was the better man tonight.”