Gilberto Román Regained the WBC Super Flyweight Crown
Gilberto Román won the WBC super flyweight championship against Jiro Watanabe in Japan on March 30, 1986. The Mexican boxer went on to hold the championship in two separate reigns.
The Olympic foundation
Román represented Mexico at flyweight at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. After an opening bye, he defeated Puerto Rico’s Alberto Mercado before losing to Bulgaria’s Petar Lesov.
Born in Mexicali, Román worked with trainer Nacho Beristain during his professional career. His championship breakthrough against Watanabe came by unanimous decision.
Two championship reigns
Santos Laciar ended Román’s first WBC reign in May 1987. Román regained the belt from Sugar Baby Rojas on April 8, 1988, before losing it to Nana Konadu in November 1989.
His final championship challenge came against Moon Sung-Kil in Seoul in June 1990 and ended in a stoppage defeat. Román died later that month, on June 27, aged twenty-eight.
Known as “El Chaparral,” Román accumulated twelve wins, three losses and one draw in world championship contests. His successful title opposition included Frank Cedeño and Kiyoshi Hatanaka, while his series with Laciar produced a win, a loss and a draw. He also defeated Rojas twice. His death came in a road accident near Chilpancingo while traveling with friends from Mexico City toward Acapulco.
Sources
- BoxRec: Román’s Olympic results, trainer and two championship reigns
- Cleto Reyes: Román’s Watanabe victory and final championship challenge
