On the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga event, former WBA super-lightweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero makes his return to the ring as he will face Manuel Jaimes (16-1-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday night, September 14th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Credit: Alex Sanchez/ Premier Boxing Champions)
Romero is coming off a devastating loss, but he plans on bouncing back and delivering an impressive performance on September 14th. This upcoming bout against Jaimes is a fight Romero has to win impressively, as this could be Romero’s last run as a legitimate contender.
In August 2020, an undefeated Rolly Romero faced the undefeated Jackson Marinez. In the early rounds, Romero had success pressing forward and landing his power shots.
Marinez was able to make the adjustments as he dictated the pace of the bout by utilizing the jab, setting traps, and landing sharp counter shots. Fight fans and boxing pundits assumed Marinez won, but the judges ultimately awarded Romero a controversial unanimous decision.
After collecting two legitimate wins, Romero would face boxing superstar Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Romero appeared to be in control of the fight until Tank Davis landed a devastating left-hand shot that abruptly ended the battle in the 6th round.
A year later, in May 2023, Rolly Romero moved up to fight Ismael Barroso for the vacant WBA super-lightweight title. With 26 seconds remaining in the 3rd round, Barroso landed a left-hand shot that sent Romero down to the canvas.
The 40-year-old Ismael Barroso was able to slow down the pace of the fight and consistently land his power shots. At the 2:12 mark of the 9th round, Romero made contact with an aggressive push that was ruled a knockdown.
With under thirty seconds remaining in the 9th round, Romero forced Barroso into a corner and threw a flurry of shots, but most of the punches missed the target. Then, for some unapparent reason, referee Tony Weeks stepped in and made the egregious decision to stop the fight.
Rolly Romero was gifted the WBA super-lightweight world title with the controversial victory. Next on the new champion’s agenda was his first title defense against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
Unfortunately for Romero, his first title defense would turn out to be his last title defense as Cruz stopped Romero in the eighth round. Now Rolando “Rolly” Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) will attempt to get back on the winning track on Saturday, September 14th.
Romero is a power puncher who has displayed high-level trolling and average boxing skills. Despite having a limited amateur career, Romero has experienced success, but the success has been tainted.
Romero’s victory against Jackson Marinez was tainted because most fight fans thought Marinez was robbed. In his fight against Tank Davis, it seemed like Romero was in control of the first half of the battle, but when you analyze the tape, you can see Davis was patiently setting up Romero.
In Romero’s bout against Ismael Barroso for the vacant WBA 140-pound world title, another robbery occurred as Romero, who was behind on all three scorecards, was gifted a controversial stoppage victory.
When asked about Romero’s ability as a boxer, most of his peers ridiculed his lack of boxing skills. When he became a 140-pound champion, Romero’s peers considered him the weakest champion at 140.
Rolly Romero’s punching power and personality helped open the doors of opportunity. However, his comedic routine is getting old, and during the next phase of his career, Romero needs to let his boxing skills do the talking.
Rolly Romero justifies his recent loss to Isaac Cruz by stating he had an off night. Romero has his mind set on becoming world champion once again, and the first step to his new journey will take place on Saturday night, September 14th.
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