By Dan Ambrose: Rolly Romero weighed in at 139.4 lbs, & his opponent Ismael Barroso also came in at 139.4 pounds for their fight for the vacant WBA light welterweight title tonight.
Rolly vs. Barroso will go down this Saturday, May 13th, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The event will be shown live on Showtime at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
It’s safe to say that if Rolly loses this fight to the 40-year-old Barroso (23-3-2, 22 KOs), his career is over. This fight is a gimme for Rolly (14-1, 12 KOs), courtesy of excellent match-making done on his behalf by his powerful promoters and management at PBC.
Rolly revealed after the weigh-in that he will be moving up to 147 after this fight, even if he’s victorious. He says it was almost as difficult for him to make 140 as it was when he was fighting at 135, and he thinks it’ll be easier on his body if he moves up to 147.
With that said, Rolly said that he’d stick around at 140 if a big fight falls into his lap like Ryan Garcia. But apart from that, he’ll be moving up to 147.
Weigh-in results
- Rolando Romero 139.4 vs. Ismael Barroso 139.4
- Rances Barthelemy 142.6 vs. Omar Juarez 142.2
- Batyr Akhmedov 138.8 vs. Kenneth Sims Jr. 139.2
- Esteuri Suero 139.2 vs. Starling Castillo 139.6
- Michael Angeletti 118.2 vs. Michell Banquez 118.8
- Justin Viloria 127.6 vs. Pedro Pinillo 129.2
“I feel great. I can’t complain,” said Rolly Romero to Fighthype moments after weighing in successfully on Friday for his title fight against Ismael Barroso for the vacant WBA light welterweight belt this Saturday night.
“I do feel way better than I was back then [fighting at lightweight] at 135, but the thing is, it’s not about making the weight part. Anyone can make the weight. The problem is feeling good at the damn weight.
“If you feel like s**t, your body doesn’t have enough time to recover. I’m moving up to 147. I don’t care what anyone says. I’m moving up to 147. 140 is still difficult for me. It’s way easier than 135, but I’m moving to 147. I know I’m going to be at my best at 147.
“Unless a great opportunity shows up here [135], and I’m going to move straight up to 147,” said Rolly about his intentions to move up to welterweight, even if he captures the WBA 140-lb title on Saturday night.
“If Oscar [De La Hoya] is for it, I’m pretty sure I can get my team for it,” said Rolly about Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya saying he’d be interested in matching Ryan Garcia against him next if he captures the WBA title on Saturday night against Barroso.
“I asked for the fight [with Ryan] years, years, and years ago, and if I can get it now, that would be dope. I’m not going to spoil anything for you guys right now. This isn’t a s**t-talking battle right now, but when it happens, it’s on. It’s on.
“Gervonta looked beautiful. The biggest difference in the fight was Gervonta’s legs. His legs won him the fight. He had better legs [than Ryan],” said Rolly.