Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero spoke for the first time today since losing his WBA light welterweight title to Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz. He congratulated Cruz on his eighth-round technical knockout win last Saturday night in Las Vegas and vowed to be back “stronger.”
Rolly (15-2, 13 KOs) says the referee had to “save me from me” when he stepped in and waved it off after Pitbull Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) unloaded with an unanswered barrage of punches in the eighth round.
If the referee hadn’t stepped in, Rolly would have gone down. He couldn’t have taken more than four or five more headshots from Cruz while hitting the canvas.
It wouldn’t have been pretty to see Rolly get dropped in that fashion, and it would have been far worse if he had gotten up and continued fighting. Cruz wasn’t playing around. Rolly’s legs, which had saved him from being knocked out earlier, were too weary by the eighth round to
Respectful Defeat, Refusal to Quit
“I want to congratulate Pitbull on a great fight and achieving his dream of becoming a world champion,” said Rolly Romero on Instagram, reflecting on his loss to Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Saturday night.
Rolly was giving up too much ground to have any chance of defeating Pitbull Cruz, and that was a bit of a surprise. He lacked confidence in his ability to stand his ground and bet on himself.
“I came into this fight prepared to show the world my heart and skills, and I felt like I displayed that on Saturday night,” continued Rolly. “I never once got knocked down, let alone knocked out, and the ref had to save me from myself because I’m fearless.”
Rolly didn’t show much skill during the fight unless you consider his movement, holding, and straight arm. There wasn’t much to see from Rolly in the skill department because he was retreating from the first round after being staggered by Pitbull Cruz.
Vows to Return
“I’ve received so much love and support from so many different places, and it’s made a huge difference in my ability to cope with and accept this defeat,” said Rolly.
“I promise I will be back better and stronger than ever to further prove to myself and naysayers that I belong at the top level of the sport with the best of them.”
Coming back from this loss will be difficult for Rolly because he can’t beat even the fringe contenders at 140 if he can’t stay in the pocket. This is the second fight in a row that he was running around the ring all night, and he can’t win like that.
The last guy Rolly fought, 40-year-old Ismael Barroso, was beating him throughout their fight and would have won if not for a bizarre stoppage.