Danny Roman earned his place in the sport the hard way.

The former unified junior featherweight titlist can take tremendous pride in a blue-collar career upon reflection now that he claims to be done with the sport. Roman took to social media with a sudden announcement Monday evening that he was hanging up the gloves, less than three months after his most recent bout.

“I am officially announcing my retirement from boxing,” Roman stated Monday on Twitter. “Thank you to my team, promoters, sponsors, media outlets and fans all around the world for your love and support these last 12 years. All glory to God.”

Roman (29-4-1, 10KOs) emerged from a battle-tested prospect to win two belts in a competitive junior featherweight division, often coming in as the B-side on other promoters’ shows. The 32-year-old Los Angeles native stumbled out to an 8-2-1, career start before hitting his stride while being brought along on the aggressively matched Thompson Boxing circuit in Southern California.

“We have seen Danny excel in this sport and in life as we have been together for a long time,” Alex Camponovo, vice president of Thompson Boxing, told BoxingScene.com. “We traveled the world in his search for greatness and he always achieved his goals.

“His work ethic, his faith, his perseverance, his respect for the sport and his opponents were always above par.”

Proof was in his 19-fight win streak, including his taking down three straight unbeaten opponents in progressing from resurgent prospect to mandatory challenger to world champion. Lopez positioned himself for a major title following a ninth-round stoppage of San Antonio’s Adam Lopez, who was 16-0-1, at the time of their January 2017 WBA junior featherweight title eliminator in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Roman immediately parlayed his mandatory challenger status into his first career title shot, coming up big on the first try. Roman dominated unbeaten Shun Kubo in a ninth-round stoppage to win the WBA junior featherweight title on the road in Kyoto, Japan. His first title defense also took place in the Far East, soundly outpointing Ryo Matsumoto in Tokyo before returning stateside.

Three more successful title defenses followed, including a twelve-round nod over then-unbeaten IBF titlist TJ Doheny in their thrilling April 2019 unification bout in Inglewood, California. The bout marked a rare home game for Roman, also serving as the final of 19 straight victories in turning around his career.

Roman’s 28-month title reign came to a close by the slimmest of margins, dropping a disputed split decision to Murodjon ‘MJ’ Akhmadalev in their fantastic January 2019 in-ring war in Miami Gardens, Florida. Roman won 115-113 on one scorecard, losing by the same score on the two other cards.

Two wins followed as Roman clawed his way back to mandatory challenger position for the WBC/WBO titles held by Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8KOs). Roman came up well short in his June 4 clash with the rising pound-for-pound level talent, dropping a landslide decision in what now serves as the final fight of an overachieving career.

“His work ethic, his faith, his perseverance, his respect for the sport and his opponents were always above par,” noted Camponovo. “We are more than proud of the man he has become as he was great inside the ring but even better to be around outside of it.

“Our paths will always be intertwined, and we are proud to have helped him reach the pinnacle of boxing. We wish him the best today and always.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox