INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- WBA junior featherweight world titlist Daniel Roman defeated IBF world titleholder TJ Doheny by majority decision to unify two belts Friday night at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
Roman sent Doheny to the canvas twice during the fight but had to work for all 12 rounds to defeat the rugged southpaw, who pushed him throughout and hurt him badly in the seventh round.
Boxing out of the southpaw stance, Doheny (21-1, 15 KOs) troubled Roman in the first round. But in the second, a left hook from Roman (27-2-1, 10 KOs) sent Doheny down in what could be described as a flash knockdown.
Roman, who is from the Los Angeles area, was in control of the fight going into the seventh round, landing the cleaner, sharper punches. But Doheny hurt him with a left hand and punished him until the round ended.
"TJ connected with a good shot and I knew I shouldn't exchange with him," Roman said. "He's a strong guy."
From that point, Roman seized back control of the contest, and with a powerful left uppercut and his withering body attack he was able to wear down Doheny, who was bleeding from the nose.
"Once I connected on two big body shots, I saw his conditioning going down and I jumped on it. I just kept it going," said Roman, who became more relentless as the bout went into the championship rounds.
In the 11th round, a left hook sent Doheny down on one knee. The body blows kept coming from the determined Roman, but Doheny survived the round and eventually the fight.
At the end of 12 rounds, Roman was ruled the winner of this entertaining scrap by scores of 113-113, 116--110 and 116-110.
While Doheny showed heart and grit in surviving, it was Roman's skills that carried him to victory. Now he looks to add to his collection of world title belts.
"Give me [WBC champion] Rey Vargas," Roman said. "I want the fight, we are two great champions. Let's do it."
Vargas stops Soto
Former two-division titlist Jessie Vargas overcame some rough early moments against grizzled veteran Humberto Soto to score a TKO victory in Round 6 in an entertaining, back-and-forth battle.
Soto, who gave as good as he got in the first five rounds, took a right hand to the face in Round 6 that sent him to the canvas. After beating the mandatory eight-count, he was then hit with a barrage of clean power shots from Vargas, forcing referee Thomas Taylor to stop the contest.
It was the first stoppage victory for Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KOs) in three years; in 2016, he defeated Sadam Ali by TKO to win a vacant welterweight world title.
The 38-year-old Soto (69-10-2, 37 KOs), a veteran of over 80 professional bouts, showed his savvy in laying counterpunching traps against Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KOs), who is nine years his junior. While Vargas was quicker and faster, Soto landed cleaner and harder right hands during heavy exchanges.
"Honestly I was looking for the big shots, looking for body shots," Vargas said. "But he is a crafty veteran and he proved that tonight. I just tried to dictate the pace, but he was fighting in spurts and he would put together combos.
"He's a crafty veteran," said Vargas, who was cut badly over his left eye after a clash of heads in the second round. "I am ready for whatever is next. I am ready for anyone. I want a world championship."
Anthony Sims wasn't particularly exciting, but he was effective in boxing his way to a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Vaughn Alexander (14-3, 9 KOs), by scores of 98-92 (twice) and 96-94. While he won on the cards, Sims, who improved to 19-0 (17 KOs), didn't win over many of the fans, who voiced their displeasure at the relative lack of action through the bout.
Diego Pacheco (3-0, 2 KOs) had no issues in taking care of Guillermo Maldonado in one round. This bout was a complete mismatch for the 18-year-old Pacheco, who was fighting in front of his loud, local fans. From the very onset, Pacheco, was able to land his right hand and consistently hurt Maldonado. As Maldonado (1-1) hit the canvas near the end of the first round, referee Lou Moret waved the fight off.
Shakhram Giyasov remained undefeated by outpointing Emanuel Taylor over 10 rounds in a bout that was much closer than the scores indicated. The scores of 99-91, 99-91 and 97-93 in favor of Giyasov do not tell the story of the fight, as Taylor hurt Giyasov badly twice in this bout, in both the first and the fourth rounds. What was supposed to be a relatively easy showcase for Giyasov instead became a real struggle, and perhaps a dose of reality. While he did outwork Taylor (20-6, 14 KOs), he was far from impressive.
Highly touted Austin "Ammo" Williams made a successful pro debut in dispatching Joel Guevara in the first round. Fighting from his southpaw stance, Williams sent Guevara to the canvas early in the bout with a series of power punches. Guevara was able to get up, but after a series of follow-up punches, referee Ray Corona had no choice but to wave off the fight.
Junior featherweight Murodjon Akhmadaliev defeated Carlos Carlson by third-round KO in the opening. Despite his relative inexperience, the handlers of Akhmadaliev (6-0, 5 KOs) are putting him on the fast track. Currently he is ranked No. 1 by the WBA at junior featherweight and is angling for a title shot sooner rather than later.