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 takes on Manuel Jaimes (16-1-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday night, September stand come. 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 to bounce back and put on an impressive performance on September 14th. This upcoming fight against Jaimes is a fight Romero needs to win impressively as it 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 found success by pressing forward and landing his power shots.
Marinez was able to make the adjustments while dictating the pace of the fight by using the jab, setting traps and landing sharp counter shots. Fighters and boxing pundits assumed that Marinez won, but the judges ended up awarding Romero a controversial unanimous decision.
After collecting two legitimate wins, Romero would face boxing superstar Gervonta “Tank” Davis. It looked like Romero was in control of the fight until Tank Davis landed a devastating left hand shot that ended the fight abruptly 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 left in the 3rd round, Barroso landed a left hand that sent Romero crashing to the canvas.
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 connected with an aggressive jab that was ruled a takedown.
With less than thirty seconds left in the 9th round, Romero forced Barroso into a corner and threw a flurry of shots, but most of the shots missed the target. Then, for some unclear reason, referee Tony Weeks stepped in and made the horrific decision to stop the fight.
Rolly Romero was awarded 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 as Cruz stopped Romero in the eighth round. Now Rolando “Rolly” Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) will look to get back on the winning streak on Saturday, September 14th.
Romero is a power puncher who has displayed high level trolling and average boxing skills. Despite a limited amateur career, Romero experienced success, but the success was tainted.
Romero’s win against Jackson Marinez was tainted because most fight fans thought Marinez was robbed. In his fight against Tank Davis, it looked like Romero was in control for the first half of the fight, but if you analyze the tape, you can see that Davis was patiently setting Romero up.
In Romero’s fight against Ismael Barroso for the vacant WBA 140-pound world title, another heist occurred as Romero, trailing on all three scorecards, was handed a controversial victory.
When asked about Romero’s ability as a boxer, most of his peers mocked his lack of boxing skills. When he became 140-pound champion, Romero’s peers considered him the weakest champion at 140.
Rolly Romero’s hitting power and personality helped open the doors of opportunity. However, his comic 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 saying he had an off night. Romero is intent on becoming world champion again, and the first step on his new journey will take place on Saturday night, September 14.
