Daniel Roman elevated to ‘super champion’ status by WBA

WBA and IBF unified super bantamweight titleholder Daniel Roman has been officially elevated to “super world champion” by the WBA, meaning that the sanctioning body can now start calling the winner of the Nov. 23 fight between interim champ Brandon Figueroa and Julio Ceja a “world champion,” because words in boxing mean so very little, particularly with the WBA.

None of this is meant as any shot at Roman, the 29-year-old “Baby Faced Assassin” from Los Angeles who has had a tremendous run at 122 pounds and become one of the most enjoyable fighters in the sport to watch.

Roman went to Japan as an underdog in Sept. 2017 to beat Shun Kubo for the belt, and went back in Feb. 2018 to beat Ryo Matsumoto over 12 rounds in a successful defense. He’s also defended against Moises Flores and Gavin McDonnell, and came back home in April of this year for a win over TJ Doheny, a Fight of the Year-level war that saw Roman unify the WBA and IBF belts.

“I’m very grateful and honored to be the super champion,” Roman said. ”The WBA title will always hold a special place in my heart. These title fights mean everything to me and I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to make four successful title defenses.”

Roman was set to face dangerous mandatory challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev on Sept. 13, but had to pull out with a shoulder injury. He’s now healed up and starting the process to get back into the swing of things, with the fight against Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6 KO) still on the table and something he has to do.