By Jake Donovan

The biggest fight on DAZN’s—and boxing’s—current calendar will take place eight days prior in Las Vegas, but it’s the April 26 offering in the greater Los Angeles area which has true boxing junkies abuzz.

Topping the bill at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. will be the highly anticipated rematch between World super flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and former flyweight titlist Juan Francisco Estrada. In supporting capacity will be the next big step in creating clarity atop the 122-pound division, as Daniel Roman and TJ Doheny engage in a mouthwatering unification bout.

“This is a stacked card from top to bottom,” Frank Smith, CEO of Matchroom Boxing noted during a press conference Monday in Los Angeles to announce the DAZN event. This is what we aim to deliver throughout the year.

“(Roman vs. Doheny) is a fight we’re very much looking forward to. The winner has a big fight waiting for him down the road possibly with Rey Vargas, the WBC champion who just recently fought on DAZN (12-round over Franklin Manzanilla on Feburary 9).”

The latter pairing might be a bit ambitious and premature, but does in fact speak to the level of talent in the super bantamweight division currently residing on the DAZN side of the street. All three 122-pound titlists have already fought on the sports streaming platform, with Roman and Doheny making their second appearance with their unification bout.

Roman (26-2-1, 10KOs) appeared on the very first DAZN USA card to air from the United States, scoring an impressive 10th round knockout of Gavin McDonnell last October in Chicago. The win wrapped up a three-fight campaign in 2018, all coming in successful defenses of the WBA 122-pound strap he acquired in a Sept. ’17 knockout win over Shun Kubo overseas in Japan.

The aforementioned win over McDonnell marked the start of a co-promotion Roman and Thompson Boxing entered with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. The move was designed to finally bring his talents to a wider audience, having flown far under the radar for most of his eight-plus year career.

It’s already reaped dividends, as the 28-year old Los Angelino will get his first home game as a defending titlist—fittingly in the biggest fight of his career to date.

“I’m excited to be back home,” Roman acknowledged during the presser. “This is a fight you want to see - the best against the best, champion against champion. I’ve been asking for this fight since I won the world title, and finally it’s here.

“It’s going to be a great card, but I feel we’re going to steal the show that night.”

With any luck, his opponent and fellow beltholder hopes to steal another title on the road.

Like Roman, Doheny (21-0, 15KOs) had to travel to Japan to secure his first major title edging Ryosuke Iwasa to claim the IBF 122-pound belt last August. His first defense came against Iwasa’s countryman Ryohei Takahashi, but with the bout taking place this past January at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

The bout marked Doheny’s debut on DAZN, signing with the platform with the specific intention of securing this very fight. A deal was reached almost immediately, with the only delay in finding a date and location to properly house the event.

“This is the kind of fight I want to be involved in,” noted Doheny, who will attempt the second defense of his title. “This is the type of fight I’ve been pushing for ever since I won my title—a unification bout.

“In my opinion this is probably the best two 122 fighters in the world going off right now. There’s a lot of respect between myself and Danny… a fight of this magnitude does not need that kind of stuff. Come April 26 when that first bell goes, the respect will be gone out the window, and the fans can expect fireworks.”

And with any luck, their meeting pre-fight expectations of the bout stealing the show.

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