Daniel Roman announces retirement after 12 years in the fight game.
| Almost three months since losing his last fight, former unified junior featherweight titlist Daniel Roman announced his retirement on Monday night. “I am officially announcing my retirement from boxing,” Roman posted to Twitter. “Thank you to my team, promoters, sponsors, media outlets and fans all around the world for your love and support these last 12 years. All glory to God.” In his final bout, Roman challenged unified junior featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton on Showtime on June 4 in Minneapolis and lost a near-shutout decision via scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109. Roman turned pro in October 2010, rose from the Southern California club show circuit — mainly on cards put on by Thompson Boxing, his longtime promoter — and overcame two early decision losses to go on to unify a pair of 122-pound world titles and face some of the best in the division. |
Roman’s big break came in September 2017 when he landed a shot at WBA titlist Shun Kubo and traveled to Japan, where notched an upset to win the title by ninth-round knockout in a dominating performance.
Roman (29-4-1, 10 KOs), 32, of Los Angeles, would go on to make four successful defenses, including returning to Japan for his first defense in a one-sided decision win over Ryo Matsumoto. He then outpointed Moises Flores, stopped Gavin McDonnell in the 10th round of his first fight with co-promoter Matchroom Boxing and reached the height of his career when he claimed a majority decision over TJ Doheny in an action-packed fight to unify the WBA and IBF belts in April 2019.
Roman lost the belts in his next fight by disputed split decision to Murodjon Akhmadaliev in January 2020 and was disappointed he could not secure a rematch.
Roman then parted ways with Matchroom Boxing and began working with Premier Boxing Champions and won two decisions in a row against former bantamweight titlist Juan Carlos Payano and Ricardo Espinoza. Those wins set him up for the shot at Fulton, who will be his final foe barring a comeback.
