By Dan Ambrose: Showing off his huge punching power, former WBC super featherweight champion Takashi Miura, (31-3-2, 24 KOs) blasted out #2 WBC Miguel “Mickey” Roman (56-12, 43 KOs) in a 12th round knockout on Friday night in a World Boxing Council 130lb eliminator bout at the Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.
The southpaw Miura took control over the fight starting in the 7th with his big power shots. Up until then, Roman had been giving Miura all he could handle with his high pressure and inside game. Miura was able to wear Roman down steadily like an old clock in nailing him with huge punches while making loud grunting noises.
Miura knocked Roman down in rounds 10, 11 and 12. The end came in round 12 with Miura landing a huge left hand to the head of Roman that put him down. The fight was then halted by referee Tom Taylor. The official time of the stoppage was at 0:53 of the round.
Miura made his job a lot harder than it should have been tonight by him fighting so passively in the first six rounds. It was a different look for Miura, who usually starts out quickly in his fights in looking to score fast knockouts. It looks like his 9th round knockout loss to Francisco Vargas in 2015 caused him to be more conservative for this fight. Miura started off fast against Vargas, and knocked him down. However, Vargas was able to take control over the fight after Miura wore down, and eventually he was able to knock him out in the 9th.
Miura took it very, very slow against the 31-year-old Roman in rounds 1 through 6. Roman was able to cause a lot of swelling in the face of Miura by the 6th. Things were definitely starting to look bleak for Miura. However, he came out looking like the old version of himself in round 7, as he started to unload on Roman was major punching power with every shot. The left hands to the head were thrown with devastating power. Roman took them, but he started to swell up almost immediately. The body shots that Miura threw did even more damage, as he was able to get everything into his left hand body shots.
In round 10, Miura landed a perfectly timed left to the body that dropped Roman. Luckily for Roman, the knockdown occurred in the final seconds of the round. After he got back to his feet, the round ended.
In the 11th, Miura unloaded on Roman with a flurry of shots that put him down. It was a body shot that dropped Roman. He made the mistake of trying to trade with Miura, and it cost him. By that point in the fight, Roman looked worn out and lacking the power and energy to fight Miura in a brawling manner. However, that’s the only style that Roman knew. He didn’t have anything else to fall back on.
In the 12th, Miura poleaxed Roman with a left to the head that he loaded up on.
Miura has got to be the hardest puncher in the super featherweight division. Guys like Miguel Berchelt and Francisco Vargas can both punch, but Miura’s punching power is a next level above those fighters. That’s why it was so hard to understand why he didn’t unload on Roman from the 1st round. He could have worn the Mexican fighter down fast and scored a quick knockout if he’d gone after him early
The loss for Roman ends an 18-fight winning streak, albeit against weak opposition. Roman is a good fighter, but one with a lot of losses. Roman did better than he should have tonight based on Miura taking it easy on him through six rounds. If the Japanese fighter had teed off on Roman from the 1st round, the fight likely would have been over by round 6.
The win for Miura puts him on collision course with new WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt. Those will be fighting each other next, and I favor Miura to win. He’s got too much power, and Berchelt is wide open with the way he attacks head on. Miura has the defensive skill, punching power and the boxing ability to beat Berchelt. Miura will gladly give Berchelt a war if that’s what he wants. Even if Berchelt doesn’t want a war, Miura is going to make it one.