Rolando “Rolly” Romero (12-0, 10 KOs) was supposed to have a breakout performance on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. While he got the win, it wasn’t without controversy. In a fight many thought he lost, Romero would win by unanimous decision over previously fellow unbeaten Jackson Maríñez (19-1, 7 KOs) to capture the 135-pound interim WBA Lightweight Title.
The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 118-110, all in favor of Romero.
Despite the controversy, the 24-year-old Romero felt he was the rightful winner,
“I don’t think I had a bad performance,” said Romero, who confidently predicted a brutal knockout would end the bout in his pre-fight comments. “I thought I won the fight. Regardless of everything, I’m the world champ now. I’m happy.
Conversely, Maríñez, who, according to Sho Stats, out-landed Romero 103-86, thought he was robbed.
“That was pure robbery,” Maríñez said. “I won the fight. I out-jabbed, out-boxed him. You could tell he didn’t think he won the fight right afterwards. It’s a robbery.”
According to Romero, who was cut in the ninth-round due to a headbutt, Marinez gave him a much tougher fight than expected.
“He came out a little bit tougher and slicker than what I thought,” Romero said. “But all he did was move around the entire fight. He didn’t even try to engage. It’s hard to knock out someone who doesn’t try to engage. I hurt him multiple times with body shots and a few hooks. There was one moment I hurt him with a right hand, and he pulled my head down. It was just hard to finish him off. Yeah, [I would give him a rematch]. He didn’t do anything special.”
The 29-year-old Maríñez is trained by Robert Garcia, but Garcia was not present in Maríñez’s corner after electing not to travel cross country from his Southern California home. However, this did not seem to impact Maríñez.
Romero has a lot of confidence, but at this point, it does not appear he’s ready for the top names at 135. Regarding Marinez, hopefully, he can get the rematch.
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