Berchelt knocks out Roman in the 9th to defend title

LOS ANGELES: Miguel Berchelt knocked fellow Mexican Miguel Roman down three times en route to a ninth-round knockout to retain his World Boxing Council junior lightweight title on Saturday.

The younger Berchelt defended his title for the fourth time in the main event of a boxing card at the Haskins Center arena in El Paso, Texas. The 26-year-old Berchelt improved to 35-1 with 31 career knockouts while Roman dropped 60-13 overall.

Berchelt pounded Roman at will in the eighth round and before referee Jon Schorle stopped it with just two seconds to go in the ninth.Roman suffered a cut over his left eye in the eighth and it was apparent he was running out of gas.

So Berchelt roared out of his corner to start the ninth and landed a barrage of punches, eventually flooring Roman with a combination.The 32-year-old Roman continued but Berchelt wasn’t letting up, forcing Schorle to step in and stop the onslaught late in the round.