On Saturday night, March 30th, as the chief support bout on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora card, Rolando “Rolly” Romero lost his WBA super-lightweight title as he was stopped in the 8th round by Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
During the build up for the fight, Romero consistently talked the talk, but on fight night he didn’t walk the walk. Romero put forth a courageous effort, but he was overwhelmed by the aggression of Pitbull Cruz.
Rolly Romero initially made headlines back in August 2020 when he was awarded a controversial unanimous decision victory over Jackson Marinez. After escaping with a victory that most fans thought he didn’t deserve, Romero fought twice in 2021 and posted two 7th round TKO victories.
Rolly Romero received his chance to perform under the bright lights in May 2022 when he faced superstar boxer Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Romero got off to a good start as he banked most of the early rounds, but unfortunately he was stopped in the sixth when he ran into a counter left hand shot.
Romero lost the fight, but despite the defeat, Rolly somehow gained more credibility. A year after losing to Tank Davis, the outspoken Rolando Romero moved up to 140 to fight for the vacant WBA super-lightweight world title.
While battling Ismael Barroso in the WBA championship bout, Romero got caught in the third round by a left hand shot that sent him down to the canvas. Rolly survived the third, and later on in the 9th round, Romero landed a hard left hook, and followed it up with a downward push that was counted as a knockdown.
Barroso got up, and as the fight continued, Romero proceeded to press forward and force Barroso into a corner. Romero threw a flurry of shots, and despite the fact that Romero missed the majority of the punches thrown, referee Tony Weeks still decided to step in and put a halt to the contest.
After winning the WBA super-lightweight world title, in controversial fashion, Rolly Romero was set to make his first title defense against Isaac Cruz. The bout would be the co-main of the inaugural PBC Pay-per-view event on Amazon Prime.
In the opening round, Pitbull Cruz began to immediately press forward throwing overhand rights and lefts. Cruz missed the majority of the shots, but in the final minute of the first round, Cruz landed a counter left hand shot that buckled Romero ‘s knees.
The challenger Isaac Cruz continued to land heavy punches, as the defending WBA champion Rolando Romero was stumbling backwards trying to survive the opening round. Cruz would go on to control the tempo in rounds two through six by applying constant pressure and landing well-timed counter shots.
In the final 30 seconds of the seventh round, Pitbull Cruz walked Rolly Romero down and hit him with a barrage of punches. In the eighth round, Cruz hit Romero with several power shots, which forced the referee to step in and put a halt to the contest.
Rolly Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) showed a lot
of heart, but unfortunately, he had no answers in regards to defending Isaac Cruz’s offensive attack. Now the question is, what’s next for Rolly Romero?
With boxers such as Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Subriel Matias, and Ryan Garcia, the 140-pound division is arguably the most talented weight class in boxing. Romero has the power, but does he have the skills or the ring intelligence to compete with any of the top-ten super-lightweight contenders?
An option for Romero could be to test the waters at 140 one final time by fighting another boxer who is coming off a loss. For example, Rolly Romero vs Regis Prograis could be an interesting matchup. Another option for Romero could be to pack on seven pounds and move up to the less crowded welterweight division.