Photos: Sumio Yamada

In a spectacular fight, WBC super featherweight champion Miguel “Alarcon” Berchelt (35-1, 31 KOs) stopped the very game Miguel “Mickey” Roman (60-13, 47 KOs) in round nine to retain the title on Saturday night at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas.

After two close and brutal rounds, Berchelt got the upper hand when he rocked the aggressive Roman repeatedly in round three. Berchelt floored Roman twice in round six. Berchelt dropped Roman again in round nine and got the stoppage with a fierce follow-up barrage. Time was 2:58.

“This was the toughest of my four world title defenses,” Berchelt said. “I give my respect to Mickey as an opponent. The key was my body work. He kept getting up and fighting with all of his heart. He’s a valiant Mexican warrior.”

Roman stated, “I feel fine. I gave it 100 percent. I’ll be back.”

–