Miguel Berchelt


Miguel Ángel Berchelt Cervera is a Mexican professional boxer who has held the WBC super featherweight title since 2017. As of May 2020, he is ranked as the world's best active super featherweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, The Ring and Boxrec.

Amateur career

Berchelt tried out at the age of 16 for the football club he supported as a child, Pumas UNAM. He turned to boxing after being rejected. During his amateur career, he was a three-time Mexican National Boxing Champion in the Elite category. Berchelt never represented his country internationally as Óscar Valdez was the highest-ranked boxer in the featherweight division at the time. The two never faced each other as amateurs.

Professional career

Early career

Berchelt turned pro at the age of 18, moving from his native Cancún to Mérida. He debuted on his 19th birthday, defeating Armin Chan by way of technical knockout in the 2nd round. Berchelt lived in a single room above a gym with six other boxers during this time. He was considered the boxer of the year in 2011 by the World Boxing Council. He amassed a 15-0 record with 13 knockouts before getting his first chance to compete for a belt in September 2012. Berchelt defeated Berman Sánchez for the WBC Youth Intercontinental super featherweight by technical knockout after 2 rounds. Berchelt made his US debut in March 2013 beating Claudio Ríos by TKO in the first round in the undercard of Ríos-Alvarado II at the Mandalay Bay. Berchelt's career suffered a surprising setback when he was knocked out in just one round by Luis Eduardo Flores. Berchelt struggled getting inside the range of his taller opponent. He was knocked down by a left hook and struggled to beat the count before the referee waved the fight off.
However, Berchelt would get his career back on track by rattling off seven consecutive wins by way of knockout and winning the NABO super featherweight title. Berchelt first fought for a world title by facing George Jupp for the vacant interim WBO super featherweight. Berchelt won the title, defeating Jupp with a round 6 TKO in Mérida, his adopted hometown. Jupp was outmatched, having taken the fight at seven days' notice. Berchelt defended his title against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo before vacating it to challenge WBC champion Francisco Vargas.

WBC super featherweight champion

Berchelt vs. Vargas

On 2 December 2016 it was announced that Berchelt and Vargas would meet on 29 January 2017 at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California for the Vargas' WBC super featherweight title. Vargas and Berchelt traded punches in the early rounds, with cuts from Vargas' previous fights with Takashi Miura and Orlando Salido re-opening. On the latter rounds, Vargas started to slowly fade and Berchelt started to dominate the defending champion. The referee stopped the fight with 2:19 minutes elapsed in the round 11. According to CompuBox Stats, Vargas landed 330 of 1032 punches thrown and Berchelt landed 430 of his 947 thrown. In the post fight interview, Berchelt said, "I wanted to fight the best of the best, and this fight happened because of that. Francisco is a great champion, he has fought the best and has been in two Fight of the Year contests. I knew what I was getting into I left my heart and soul on the mat. I am young and hungry. I want to thank Vargas for this incredible opportunity." Vargas stated he lost the fight due to cuts and would eventually want a rematch. The fight averaged 497,000 viewers and peaked at 561,000 viewers.

Initial defences

Berchelt's first defense came on 15 July at The Forum in Inglewood, California against former WBC super featherweight champion Takashi Miura. Miura lost his title to Vargas in The Ring's 2015 Fight of the year. Miura had defeated Miguel Román in the Vargas vs. Berchelt undercard to become the WBC's mandatory challenger. Berchelt knocked down Miura in the first round and proceeded to out-point the former champion en route to a comfortable win by unanimous decision. This fight marked only the third time that a Berchelt bout went to the scorecards. Miura announced his retirement 2 weeks after this bout.
In October 2017, it was announced that Berchelt would close out the year by defending his title against Orlando Salido. On 14 October, Sean Gibbons, Salido's manager, told the LA Times that the fight had been finalized to take place on 9 December, meaning it would fall on the same day as Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Guillermo Rigondeaux. On 23 October, sources indicated that Berchelt was still having issues with his right hand and would not be able to fight. Berchelt was informed by the WBC that he would be allowed a voluntary defence before fighting the winner of Salido vs. Roman.
On 23 January 2018 a deal was finalized for Berchelt to defend his WBC title against 31 year old Philippine boxer Carlo Magali on 10 February in Cancún, Mexico. Berchelt had not fought in front of his home fans since July 2011. Originally, Cristian Mijares was scheduled to challenge Berchelt, however a deal could not be reached. A week before the fight, Magali was replaced by African boxer Maxwell Awuku. Berchelt dropped Awuku twice, winning the bout via TKO in round 3. The referee stopped the bout with 14 seconds remaining in the round. The first knockdown occurred following a straight right and then the second knockdown, which followed after Awuku beat the count, was from a hard jab. The fight was then stopped with Awuku pinned against the ropes receiving power shots. The fight, which aired on TV Azteca in Mexico, was watched by 6 million viewers.

Berchelt vs. Barros

A couple days after defeating Awuku, it was reported that Berchelt would next fight his mandatory challenger Miguel Román in May 2018. Roman's promoter Osvaldo Küchle was willing to go to purse bids. He revealed Zanfer Promotions made an offer, however it was not satisfactory. Küchle wanted to take the fight to a football stadium. On 19 March, Zanfer Promotions announced that Berchelt would make a voluntary defence in Mérida, before fighting Román later in the year. Argentine boxer and former featherweight world champion Jonathan Victor Barros became the front runner to challenge Berchelt on 23 June 2018. The deal was confirmed on 25 May for the fight to take place at the Poliforum Zamna with ESPN+ covering the fight in the United States. Barros was coming off a loss entering this bout following his failed world title challenge against then-IBF champion Lee Selby in July 2017 and at the time ranked #9 at featherweight by the WBC. n an easy title defense, Berchelt defeated Barros via TKO in round 3, successfully retaining his WBC title a third time. Berchelt dropped Barros in round 2 with a left hand to the head. Barros beat the count, however spent the remainder of the bout taking heavy shots. He was dropped again in round 3. Barros' trainer stepped up on the apron advising the referee to stop the bout. Despite Barros beating the count again and wanting to continue, the referee stopped the fight 1:53 of round 3. On the same night, mandatory challenger Miguel Román defeated then-undefeated Michel Marcano via stoppage in round 2. Prior to their respective bouts, the WBC ordered Berchelt vs. Roman to take place.

Berchelt vs. Román

Whilst a deal was being finalized for the Berchelt-Román fight, it was said that HBO, who had showcased both boxers recent fights, would likely not broadcast the fight as there was interest from Showtime, ESPN+ and DAZN. On 24 August it was announced that ESPN+ had picked up the fight, to take place on 3 November 2018 in either Los Angeles or Texas. The Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas was later confirmed as the venue.

Personal life

Berchelt was arrested in 2012 due to domestic violence.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
39NC37–1 Eleazer Valenzuela6, 1:1327 Jun 2020Mexico City, Mexico.png" />Berchelt declared the winner by TKO, officially ruled an NC as the event was not sanctioned by Mexico City Boxing Commission
38Win37–1 Jason SosaKO4, 2:562 Nov 2019 Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
37Win36–1 Francisco VargasRTD6, 3:0011 May 2019 Convention Center, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
36Win35–1 Miguel RománTKO9, 2:583 Nov 2018 Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
35Win34–1 Jonathan Victor BarrosTKO3, 1:5323 Jun 2018 Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, MéxicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
34Win33–1 Maxwell AwukuTKO3, 2:4610 Feb 2018 Grand Oasis Resort, Cancún, MéxicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
33Win32–1 Takashi MiuraUD1215 Jul 2017 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
32Win31–1 Francisco VargasKO11, 2:1928 Jan 2017 Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, U.S.Won WBC super featherweight title
31Win30–1 Chonlatarn PiriyapinyoKO4, 2:5916 Jul 2016 Polideportivo Soraya Jiménez, Los Reyes La Paz, MéxicoRetained WBO interim super featherweight title
30Win29–1 George JuppKO6, 1:5512 Mar 2016 Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, MéxicoWon WBO interim super featherweight title
29Win28–1 Rolando GionoKO3, 1:5019 Dec 2015 Coliseo Yucatán, Mérida, México
28Win27–1 Josué BendanaTKO5, 1:3426 Sep 2015 Centro Convenciones, Puerto Peñasco, México
27Win26–1 Sergio PuenteRTD5, 3:0020 Jun 2015 Palenque, Comitán, México
26Win25–1 René González5, 3:0028 Mar 2015 Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, MéxicoWon vacant NABO super featherweight title
25Win24–1 Antonio EscalanteTKO3 2:3611 Oct 2014 Coliseo Yucatán, Mérida, México
24Win23–1 Carlos Manuel ReyesKO4, 2:545 Jul 2014 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, México
23Win22–1 Armando MariscalKO3, 2:2831 May 2014 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, México
22Loss21–1 Luis Eduardo FlorezTKO1, 1:3915 Mar 2014 Palenque, México
21Win21–0 Omar EstrellaKO5 2:512 Nov 2013 Centro de Usos Múltiples, Hermosillo, México
20Win20–0 Cristóbal CruzTKO5, 2:2531 Aug 2013 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, México
19Win19–0 Weng HayaTKO2, 2:5722 Jun 2013 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, México
18Win18–0 Carlos ClaudioTKO1, 1:5830 Mar 2013 Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
17Win17–0 Oliver FloresKO2, 2:499 Nov 2012 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, MéxicoRetained WBC Youth Intercontinental super featherweight title
16Win16–0 Berman SánchezTKO2, 0:577 Sep 2012 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, MéxicoWon vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental super featherweight title
15Win15–0 Sergio LópezTKO1, 1:396 Jul 2012 Unidad Deportiva Víctor Cervera, Mérida, México
14Win14–0 Carlos OcampoUD1019 May 2012 Arena TKT, Puerto Vallarta, México
13Win13–0 Albert ChucTKO1, 1:1631 Mar 2012 Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, México
12Win12–0 Fernando Cruz3, 2:5017 Dec 2011 Arena Jorge Cuesy Serrano, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, México
11Win11–0 Cristian Palafox626 Nov 2011 Feria de Xmatkuil, Mérida, México
10Win10–0 Pablo BatresTKO5 29 Oct 2011 Centro de Usos Múltiples, Hermosillo, México
9Win9–0 Miguel Ángel Chi5, 2:1710 Sep 2011 Centro de Convenciones Siglo XXI, Mérida, México
8Win8–0 Israel BarrónTKO2 20 Aug 2011 Valle de Guadalupe, México
7Win7–0 Ricardo HernándezTKO2, 2:0726 Jul 2011 Plaza de Toros, Cancún, México
6Win6–0 Freddy HernándezTKO2, 1:3911 Jun 2011 La Inalámbrica, Mérida, México
5Win5–0 Alfredo de los SantosTKO3, 1:162 Apr 2011 Auditorio del Estado, Mexicali, México
4Win4–0 Aaron LópezTKO1, 2:302 Feb 2011 Plaza de Toros, Mérida, México
3Win3–0 Jonathan QuimeTKO3 18 Dec 2010 Estadio 20 de Noviembre, Campeche, México
2Win2–0 Eduardo ArévaloTKO1, 0:5227 Nov 2010 Feria de Xmatkuil, Mérida, México
1Win1–0 Armin Chan1, 1:2617 Nov 2010 Feria de Xmatkuil, Mérida, México