Lucas Jones
Rolando “Rolly” Romero fought Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz on Saturday night, seen by many as the weakest boxing world champion. Cruz took advantage of Romero’s technical deficiencies to score a TKO in round 8 of their fight on the undercard of Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora to win the WBA junior welterweight championship.
It didn’t take long for Cruz to break through Romero’s defense, landing a heavy left hook to the temple in the opening round that sent Romero stumbling into the ring on rubber legs. Somehow, Romero managed to not only survive the frame, but also avoid a knockdown.
Cruz continued to navigate his height disadvantage, slipping inside Romero’s roundhouse kicks to score with powerful punches to the head and body. When Romero managed to land punches, he was quickly met by hard counterattacks from Cruz, who refused to be kept out of Romero’s reach.
Romero attempted to quell Cruz’s constant momentum by circling around the perimeter of the ring and holding on as Cruz effectively closed the distance. This approach cost Romero in round five when his repeated actions led to a points deduction after multiple warnings.
Romero was seriously injured again in the seventh round. Once again, he managed to survive the round and stay on his feet, but it was clear that the fight was quickly getting away from him as he couldn’t hurt Cruz, nor keep the little guy at bay.
Cruz did not stop the attack in the next round. After the ringside doctor took one look at Romero and said the fight was very close to the end, Cruz continued to attack and after a huge commotion hit Romero’s legs again, the referee jumped in to stop the fight at 0:56 . of the 8th round.
“I am very happy and honored to win this title for my family and for Mexico,” Cruz said after the victory. “I was prepared for this. I wasn’t just here to fight. I was here to finish him… I spoke right here in the ring. And I did it not just for myself, but for everyone here at T- Mobile Arena there will be a Mexican 140-pound champion for a long time.
Cruz has been seeking a rematch with Gervonta “Tank” Davis after losing a competitive fight in December 2021. With a victory that cements Cruz as world champion for the first time in his career, his dream rematch is closer than ever.
Romero was making the first defense of the title, which he won controversially when he was knocked out by Ismael Barroso in May 2023, before a very quick stoppage by the referee in the ninth round of the fight. This fight came one fight after being knocked out by Gervonta Davis in their highly anticipated 2022 fight.
“I’m not just here to be a dangerous fighter,” Cruz said. “Now I have a title that supports me. So whoever is available, I’ll be ready.”
