WBA 140-pound champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero will make the first defense of his title on Saturday night against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the co-main event on a card that will be headlined by Tim Tszyu and contender Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora, who meet for Tszyu’s WBO title and the vacant WBC 154-pound world title.
Cruz(25-2-1, 17 KOs) is moving up to 140 pounds to challenge Romero (15-1, 13 KOs). The Mexican contender is best known for giving Gervonta Davis his toughest test when he lost in a close unanimous decision in 2021.
However, despite that, Romero, who was stopped by Davis in 2022, feels Cruz will be an easy fight for him.
“Everybody thinks this is gonna be a difficult fight,” Romero said at the final press conference on Thursday. “But I think this is gonna be an easy fight. He’s gonna run right into something, because he’s stupid.
“He’s gonna throw and throw and throw again. He does the same stuff over and over again. I’m ready for it.”
Cruz disagrees.
“If he thinks I’m stupid, then he’s even stupider,” Cruz said. “If he thinks I’m just gonna lay down, he’s very mistaken. He’s gonna realize it on Saturday night.”
After spending his career with trainer Bullet Cromwell, Romero has a new trainer, the legendary Ismael Salas, and Romero believes that it’s making a difference.
“I feel like I’m back at home training with Ismael Salas,” Romero said. “He’s had a big influence on me throughout my whole career really.”
Romero loves the smack talk and says he’ll have something special for Cruz at the end of the night.
“I’m not giving you the belt, but I can give you the chihuahua chain after the fight,” Romero said.
Cruz says Romero won’t be smiling at the end of the fight.
“I’m here to wipe Rolly’s smile off his face and take his belt,” he said. “That’s it. Isaac Cruz is going to be the new world champion.”
Photo: Esther Lin & Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
Rolando “Rolly” Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) delivered another impressive knockout, flooring Anthony Yigit (24-2-1, 8 KOs) three times on his way to a seventh-round TKO victory to retain his WBA Interim World Lightweight Title.
Romero controlled the action throughout, punishing southpaw Yigit to the head and body.
“I won’t rate my performance but I got a vicious knockout and I hurt him multiple times in the fight. Every time I landed something, I hurt him,” said Romero. “The European style is always awkward and he was a bigger dude. He’s a 140-pounder. If I had those extra five pounds, I would have got him out of there earlier.”
“I knew he was going to come in strong and kind of force it,” said Yigit. “So, I tried to pace myself at the beginning to see where I had him. He was very aggressive and he knew how to utilize all his strengths. Fair play to him.”
The first knockdown occurred in the fifth when, immediately after having a point deducted for hitting on the break, Romero sent Yigit crumpling to the canvas with a short right to the temple. Yigit rose to his feet on wobbly legs and was saved by a bell that rang moments later.
“He was hurt [in the fifth] but the bell rang so I didn’t have time to finish him,” said Romero. “If I had that extra time, I would have got him. He was holding, he didn’t really want to engage because he was really hurt. He was scared.”
Yigit ate more bombs in the sixth but couldn’t withstand them in the seventh as Romero dropped him, this time with a three punch-combination. Romero pounced once Yigit rose, unleashing volleys until a left hook floored Yigit a third time, forcing referee Rafael Ramos to halt the action at 1:54 of the seventh round.
“I wouldn’t mind doing it again,” said Yigit. “He was a tough opponent and I liked the fight we were having. There is some kind of mutual respect in the ring and I felt that from him. So, it felt great knowing that I went in the ring and we respected each other and gave it the best we had.”
“The punches he landed clean, I saw them coming,” said Romero.” I have to work on more combinations. I had a bad camp – at the beginning I hurt both of my ankles and my right hand. I was in a car accident a week and a half ago. My body was still sore from that yet I still took the fight.
“I need to go to 140. It’s my natural weight class. I feel I’ll be a lot stronger. I was at 135 for, what, four years now? It’s about time I move up.”
Photo: Amanda Wescott/SHOWTIME
