Daniel Roman is back training and is set to return on Jan. 30, where he’ll defend his two junior featherweight titles against WBA mandatory challenger Murodjon Akhmadaliev as part of a DAZN-streamed Super Bowl weekend card from Miami.
Roman (27-2-1, 10 KO) and Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6 KO) were set to meet on Sept. 13 in New York, but Roman was injured and the fight was postponed.
The 29-year-old Roman won the WBA 122-pound title by going to Japan in 2017, where he stopped Shun Kubo in nine. He made a trio of successful defenses of that title, then unified it with the IBF strap in April of this year, beating TJ Doheny in a fantastic battle.
Akhmadaliev, 25, is a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Uzbekistan, a southpaw with skills and power who presents a very interesting challenge for Roman in Miami.
The same card, set to take place on the Thursday before the Super Bowl, is also expected to see Demetrius Andrade defend his WBO middleweight title against Luke Keeler, plus possibly Tevin Farmer vs JoJo Diaz in a 130-pound title bout, maybe.