Photos: Miguel Berchelt Drops, Beats Down, Stops Roman

Miguel Berchelt and Miguel "Mickey" Roman promised to deliver a Fight of the Year contender. The all-Mexican showdown delivered. (photos by Mikey Williams).

Berchelt defended his WBC super featherweight title for the fourth time, scoring a ninth-round TKO against Roman in front of 5,420 fans at the Don Haskins Center on Saturday evening.

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It was a phone booth battle for the first five rounds, and in the sixth, Berchelt knocked down Roman twice. The first knockdown was a crisp right hand that nearly had Roman out for the count. But he got up, and Berchelt applied more pressure, knocking down Roman again as the round ended.

Roman (60-13, 47 KOs) somehow survived, but Berchelt continued to pour it on until referee Jon Schorle called it off with two seconds remaining in the ninth round.

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Miguel Marriaga has had three cracks at world title. He is well on his way to a fourth.

Marriaga (27-3, 23 KOs) knocked out Jose Estrella (20-15-1, 14 KOs) with a left hook to the body in the fourth round to stake his claim as a top featherweight contender. Marriaga, a Colombian power puncher, has won two straight fights since defeats in world title bouts against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oscar Valdez.

Super Featherweight: Robson Conceicao (10-0, 5 KOs), unanimous decision, 8 rounds, Joey Laviolette (9-2, 5 KOs). Scores: 80-72 3X.

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