Rolando Romero won the vacant World Boxing Association 140-pound title tonight thanks to a highly questionable decision by referee Tony Weeks, who awarded him a ninth-round stoppage against Ismael Barroso of Venezuela. The lawsuit stalled weeks into the fight with Romero losing at The Chelsea inside the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) was defeated in the third round and was outboxed by a 40-year-old man for most of the fight.
With Barroso (24–3–2, 22 KOs) leading all three judges’ scorecards at the end of round eight (Tim Cheetham had him 76–75, David Sutherland 77–74 and Steve Weisfeld 78–73), Weeks committed two blunders in the ninth episode.
In the ninth round, Romero began to connect and dropped his opponent, which looked more like a push but was called a knockdown by referee Weeks. But the worst happened when they stopped the fight at an absolutely bizarre and inexplicable moment, with both fighters throwing punches and neither connecting.
Romero said, “I’m going to be honest, (Barroso) is a fighter and they should allow him to continue.” “I dedicated myself to boxing from start to finish. I got some cold start and they hit me hard, but I got up and kept fighting like a champion.
For his part, Barroso showed his anger when he was interviewed inside the ring after the fight.
“I’m fine. It was unfair that they stopped the fight. I was hitting the best”, declared Barroso, who did not claim much and was resigned to the poor refereeing decision.
“The first takedown was a push. It wasn’t a hard blow.” “The referee stopped the fight and didn’t tell me anything. It’s natural. I was hurting him (Romero). He didn’t land me any accurate hits. I don’t understand why he stopped the fight.”
Romero was making his debut at 140 pounds, but he had a performance he will surely try to forget.
For eight rounds, Romero did nothing but allow the 40-year-old replacement for Alberto Puello to land several left jabs on him, a reminder of why he was knocked out by Gervonta Davis in May 2022. Romero appeared disinterested or reluctant to face an opponent against whom he started as the favorite in the stakes (10–1). Puello, the opponent Romero was supposed to face, was given a positive anti-doping test.
After the fight, Romero asked for a rematch against Davis or a duel against Ryan Garcia, although after Saturday night’s performance, he would have to reconsider a lot.
“I only want two fights. A rematch against ‘Tank’ Davis and an even bigger option: I want to go find Ryan Garcia”, Romero said.
