Gilberto Román (29 November 1961 – 27 June 1990) was a Mexican professional boxer and a member of the 1980 Mexican Olympic team. Román was a two-time WBC and Lineal Super Flyweight Champion and is considered by many fans to be one of the great champions in this division. Gilberto was trained by Boxing Hall of Famer Ignacio Beristáin.

Gilberto Román
Born
Gilberto Román Saldaña

(1961-11-29)November 29, 1961
DiedJune 27, 1990(1990-06-27) (aged 28)
Other namesEl Chaparral
Statistics
Weight(s)Super flyweight
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights61
Wins54
Wins by KO35
Losses6
Draws1

Amateur career

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As an amateur boxer he won some Mexican National Championships and was a member of the 1980 Mexican Olympic team. He fought with Ezequiel Cano Molina, from Cd. Valles, S.L.P. in Naranjos, Veracruz, México, and with many other important amateur boxers.

1980 Olympic record

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Below are the results of Gilberto Roman, a Mexican flyweight boxer who competed in the 1980 Moscow Olympics:

  • Round of 32: bye
  • Round of 16: defeated Alberto Mercado (Puerto Rico) referee stopped contest in first round
  • Quarterfinal: lost to Petar Lesov (Bulgaria) by decision, 1-4

Professional career

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Román made his professional debut on August 29, 1981 with a knockout victory over Gilberto Morales. He was known as a knockout puncher in the earlier portion of his career, but after suffering two consecutive losses in 1985, he began refining his boxing technique. After accumulating a record of 40-3-0, including a rematch victory over former champion Antonio Avelar & prospect Freddie Santos,[1] he received his first opportunity for a world title.

WBC Super Flyweight Championship

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In 1986, Román dethroned long reigning WBC and Lineal Super Flyweight Champion Jiro Watanabe, ending the Japanese champion's streak of 12 consecutive title victories.[2]

Román was a busy traveling champion. In his first title defense, he defeated Edgar Monserrat in France. He then traveled to Argentina where he defeated Ruben Osvaldo Condori and was held to a draw against Argentinian former WBA Flyweight Champion Santos Laciar on 30 August 1986. He then defeated Kongtoranee Payakaroon in Thailand and returned to France where he defeated Antoine Montero. In his first fight in Mexico since becoming champion, he decisioned former champion Frank Cedeno. Román met Laciar in a rematch on 16 May 1987 in France, with Laciar taking the title by technical decision in a fight stopped on cuts in the eleventh-round despite Román leading on all three scorecards by one point.

Regaining title

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Sugar Baby Rojas took the title from Laciar and Román earned another title shot against the new champion. On 8 April 1988, Román regained the title with a twelve-round decision.

He then traveled to Japan where he defeated Yoshiyuki Uchida and future champion Kiyoshi Hatanaka. Next he faced Rojas in a rematch and decisioned him once again. Roman began 1989 with a victory over Puerto Rican challenger Juan Carazo in a fight in which each boxer was dropped to the floor in the fourth round. In his next fight he avenged his loss to Laciar via unanimous decision. Following his victory over Laciar, Román lost the title to Ghana's Nana Konadu on 7 November 1989. Konadu lost the title to Sung-Kil Moon, whom Román challenged on 9 June 1990, losing by a TKO in the ninth round in what turned out be his final fight.

Román had a record of 54 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw, with 35 wins by knockout. His total of 11 successful title defenses ranks second highest in the history of the super flyweight division.

Professional boxing record

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61 fights 54 wins 6 losses
By knockout 35 2
By decision 19 2
By disqualification 0 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
61 Loss 54–6–1 Moon Sung-kil RTD 8 (12) 1990-06-09 88 Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea For WBC super-flyweight title
60 Win 54–5–1 Mike Phelps TD 9 (10) 1990-04-23 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
59 Loss 53–5–1 Nana Konadu UD 12 (12) 1989-11-07 Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico Lost WBC super-flyweight title
58 Win 53–4–1 Santos Laciar UD 12 (12) 1989-09-12 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained WBC super-flyweight title
57 Win 52–4–1 Juan Carazo UD 12 (12) 1989-06-05 Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S. Retained WBC super-flyweight title
56 Win 51–4–1 Sugar Baby Rojas UD 12 (12) 1988-11-07 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Retained WBC super-flyweight title
55 Win 50–4–1 Kiyoshi Hatanaka UD 12 (12) 1988-09-04 Rainbow Hall, Nagoya, Japan Retained WBC super-flyweight title
54 Win 49–4–1 Yoshiyuki Uchida TKO 5 (12) 1988-07-09 City Gymnasium, Kawagoe, Japan Retained WBC super-flyweight title
53 Win 48–4–1 Sugar Baby Rojas UD 12 (12) 1988-04-08 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. Won WBC super-flyweight title
52 Win 47–4–1 Jorge Ramirez TKO 6 (10) 1987-10-30 Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Mexico
51 Loss 46–4–1 Santos Laciar TKO 11 (12) 1987-05-16 Complexe Sportif René Tys, Reims, France Lost WBC super-flyweight title
50 Win 46–3–1 Frank Cedeno UD 12 (12) 1987-03-20 Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Mexico Retained WBC super-flyweight title
49 Win 45–3–1 Antoine Montero TKO 9 (12) 1987-01-31 Le Zénith Sud, Montpellier, France Retained WBC super-flyweight title
48 Win 44–3–1 Kongtoranee Payakaroon UD 12 (12) 1986-12-19 Indoor Stadium Huamark, Bangkok, Thailand Retained WBC super-flyweight title
47 Draw 43–3–1 Santos Laciar SD 12 (12) 1986-08-30 Pabellon Verde, Córdoba, Argentina Retained WBC super-flyweight title
46 Win 43–3 Ruben Osvaldo Condori UD 12 (12) 1986-07-18 Polideportivo Delmi, Salta, Argentina Retained WBC super-flyweight title
45 Win 42–3 Edgar Monserrat SD 12 (12) 1986-05-15 Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, France Retained WBC super-flyweight title
44 Win 41–3 Jiro Watanabe UD 12 (12) 1986-03-30 Sports Centre, Itami, Japan Won WBC super-flyweight title
43 Win 40–3 Arturo Castillo PTS 10 (10) 1985-11-29 Aguascalientes, Mexico
42 Win 39–3 Fidel Martinez TKO 2 (?) 1985-11-20 Acapulco, Mexico
41 Win 38–3 Arnulfo Luna KO 4 (?) 1985-09-27 Campeche, Mexico
40 Win 37–3 Armando Morales Terron TKO 5 (?) 1985-08-23 Ciudad Del Carmen, Mexico
39 Win 36–3 Freddie Santos TKO 5 (10) 1985-07-06 Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Mexico
38 Win 35–3 Mario Gomez UD 10 (10) 1985-06-07 Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
37 Win 34–3 Oscar Bolivar TKO 6 (10) 1985-05-04 Concorde Boxing Arena, Oranjestad, Aruba
36 Win 33–3 Antonio Avelar TKO 7 (10) 1985-03-30 Auditorio del Estado, Mexicali, Mexico
35 Loss 32–3 Jorge Ramirez UD 10 (10) 1985-01-28 Tijuana, Mexico
34 Loss 32–2 Antonio Avelar DQ 5 (10) 1985-01-01 Auditorio del Estado, Mexicali, Mexico
33 Win 32–1 Diego Avila TKO 8 (?) 1984-12-02 Mexicali, Mexico
32 Win 31–1 Wayne Lynumn TKO 2 (10) 1984-10-30 Veterans Memorial Building, Culver City, California, U.S.
31 Win 30–1 Bernardo Ibarra PTS 10 (10) 1984-10-01 Tijuana, Mexico
30 Win 29–1 Berlin Olivetti TKO 2 (10) 1984-06-17 J.J. Crosetti Hall, Watsonville, California, U.S.
29 Win 28–1 Manuel Aguilar KO 6 (?) 1984-03-31 Auditorio del Estado, Mexicali, Mexico
28 Win 27–1 Paul Ferreri UD 10 (10) 1984-03-15 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
27 Win 26–1 Rodolfo Martinez TKO 9 (?) 1984-01-13 Mexicali, Mexico
26 Win 25–1 Freddie Santos KO 4 (10) 1983-12-01 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
25 Win 24–1 George Garcia TKO 9 (10) 1983-11-03 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
24 Win 23–1 Ron Cisneros TKO 7 (10) 1983-09-15 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
23 Win 22–1 Pedro Rojas KO 2 (?) 1983-07-08 Poza Rica, Mexico
22 Win 21–1 Armando Loredo UD 10 (10) 1983-06-20 Astro Arena, Houston, Texas, U.S.
21 Win 20–1 Jose Torres PTS 10 (10) 1983-05-19 Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
20 Win 19–1 Jose Sosa TKO 3 (?) 1983-04-15 Mexicali, Mexico
19 Win 18–1 Elid Fernandez TKO 7 (?) 1983-03-06 Mexicali, Mexico
18 Win 17–1 Ubaldo Gonzalez TKO 2 (?) 1983-02-14 Tijuana, Mexico
17 Win 16–1 Antonio Escobar TKO 10 (10) 1983-01-31 Tijuana, Mexico
16 Win 15–1 Lupe Acosta KO 6 (?) 1982-12-15 Tijuana, Mexico
15 Win 14–1 Ramon Noguera KO 4 (?) 1982-11-29 Tijuana, Mexico
14 Win 13–1 Carlos De La Paz TKO 5 (?) 1982-10-16 Mexico City, Mexico
13 Win 12–1 Fidel Martinez KO 4 (?) 1982-09-21 Mexico City, Mexico
12 Win 11–1 Bobby Ruiz TKO 6 (?) 1982-08-21 Mexico City, Mexico
11 Loss 10–1 Diego Avila DQ 7 (?) 1982-07-03 Mexico City, Mexico
10 Win 10–0 Heriberto Saavedra PTS 10 (10) 1982-06-12 Mexico City, Mexico
9 Win 9–0 Ciro Cayetano KO 8 (?) 1982-05-28 Acapulco, Mexico
8 Win 8–0 Alejo Garcia PTS 10 (10) 1982-04-02 Ciudad Valles, Mexico
7 Win 7–0 Miguel Angel Juarez KO 7 (?) 1982-03-19 Acapulco, Mexico
6 Win 6–0 Gilberto Villacana TKO 7 (?) 1982-02-19 Mexicali, Mexico
5 Win 5–0 Juan Zarate KO 3 (?) 1982-01-16 Mexico City, Mexico
4 Win 4–0 Juan Carlos Montalvo KO 1 (?) 1981-12-19 Mexico City, Mexico
3 Win 3–0 Leo Castellanos KO 1 (?) 1981-10-30 Acapulco, Mexico
2 Win 2–0 Leonardo Valdez TKO 8 (10) 1981-09-13 Mexicali, Mexico
1 Win 1–0 Gilberto Morales KO 7 (?) 1981-08-29 Villahermosa, Mexico

Death

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Roman died in a car accident on 27 June 1990, he was riding in a car that was hit by a truck on a highway near Chilpancingo.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gilberto Roman, the World Boxing Council's No. 6-ranked super..." United Press International. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  2. ^ "Challenger Gilberto Roman of Mexico scored a..." Los Angeles Times. 31 March 1986. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  3. ^ "Gilberto Roman, 29, Ex-Boxing Champion". The New York Times. 30 June 1990. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
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Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Preceded by WBC super-flyweight champion
March 30, 1986 – May 16, 1987
Succeeded by
Preceded by WBC super-flyweight champion
April 8, 1988 – November 7, 1989
Succeeded by
Status
Preceded by Latest born world champion to die
June 27, 1990 – February 28, 1992
Succeeded by