By Francisco Salazar
Jose Roman still has a ways to go before becoming a legit contender. A victory on Friday night would allow him to continue down that path.
Roman will fight Marco Antonio Lopez in an eight round lightweight bout at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif. The bout will headline a five-bout ‘New Blood’ card, presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions.
Roman (20-1-1, 14 KOs) has won his last six bouts in a row since a disappointing eight round split decision defeat at the hands of Robert Osiobe in December of 2012.
In his last bout on April 24, Roman, who has been promoted by Thompson Boxing since last year, stopped Martin Cardona in the third round.
Roman resides in nearby Costa Mesa.
Lopez (24-6, 15 KOs) was stopped in the fifth round at the hands of Felix Verdejo on April 25. While Lopez has lost four of his last five bouts, he has faced the better opposition, which includes Verdejo, Jaider Parra, Takahiro Ao, and Kevin Mitchell.
In the co-feature, Cesar Villarraga (7-0, 4 KOs) will fight hard-hitting Jose Luis Araiza (31-12-1, 22 KOs) in a six round bout. Villarraga represented Colombia in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Also on the card, heavyweight LaRon Mitchell (7-0, 7 KOs) will fight Roy McCrary (4-3, 3 KOs) in a six round bout. Mitchell was a 2012 United States Olympic Trials runner-up.
Two, possibly three, more bouts round out the card.
Tickets start at $40 and could be purchased at the door or by calling (714) 935-0900. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with first bell scheduled at 7:45 p.m. local time.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing