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Claressa Shields Calls Judge “Corrupt” For Having Rolly Romero Up In Points Against Isaac Cruz

By
Issac Cruz

Last night was not easy for Rolando Romero. His fight against Isaac Cruz went against him and then some. He not only took a major dent in his record but also lost his WBA Superlight title to ‘The Pitbull’. However, the scorecard had a story that many disagreed with, including Claressa Shields. 

Cruz took control of the fight right from the beginning. He broke through the defense of ‘Rolly’ early, leading it with a left hook to the temple in the opening round. That set the premise for the fight, Rolly’s first defense since he bagged the title last year after beating Ismael Borroso. Consistent throughout, Cruz dropped Las Vegas-based Rolly in the 8th round, winning the WBA title through a technical knockout. While the judges scored resoundingly in favor of him, one stuck with Rolly, causing major havoc post-fight.

Claressa Shields Launches Attack on Judge

When the scorecard of the Cruz vs. Rolly fight emerged, the numbers on it shocked fans. While two judges scored 63-69 and 64-68, both in favor of Cruz, Chris Flores scored 66-65, in favor of Rolly. If the fight had not ended in a knockout, and if these scores continued, we would still see the 25-year-old Mexican fighter as the winner, however, through a split decision.

Multiple folks remained unimpressed with the judge who scored in favor of Rolly. Boxer, Ishé Oluwa Kamau Ali Smith, wrote on his X, “Whatever judge had Rolly up needs to be banned from boxing. F*cking ridiculous.” Concurring with what Ali Smith expressed, undisputed middleweight champion, Shields also went off on the judge.

She implied that the judge was corrupt and that was the right term to describe him. Replying to the post, she wrote, “Man can you say corrupt.”

While the judge whos decision did not align with popular opinion could demoralize Cruz, the fighter stood strong on his ground after the victory. Here is what he had to say.

A Big Night for Isaac Cruz

Post the fight, at the presser, Cruz dedicated the win to his family and Mexican roots. He remarked, “I’m very happy and humbled to win this title for my family and for Mexico.”

Going into the fight, he was prepared for the worst to befall. That preparation pulled him through and got him the win. He further explained, “I was prepared for this. I wasn’t here to just fight. I was here to terminate him…I did my talking right here in the ring. And I did this not just for me, but for everybody that is here at T-Mobile Arena. There’s going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time.”

The fighter has been chasing a rematch against Gervonta Davis, to whom he lost in 2021 on points. By winning the championship last night, he cemented his position in the lighter-weight divisions stronger than ever. Hence, he inches closer to the ‘Tank’ fight. Will that be where he’s headed next?

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BOXING

‘There’s Canelo, And Then There’s Pitbull’

By
Issac Cruz

As soon as Spanish singer Leiva’s guitar strummed starting Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz’s walk-in, something about boxing changed.

The crowd went wild, a transforming 140-pound title victory over Rolly Romero seemed imminent and Mexico delivered the sport its latest champion from Central Casting.

“Think about it,” Cruz’s enthusiastic manager Sean Gibbons urged. “There’s Canelo. And there’s ‘Pitbull.’”

Cruz’s relentless, vicious attack wobbled Romero (15-2) early, left him on shaky feet and inhibited during the bout and set up a destructive eighth-round TKO that made Cruz – a third-generation boxer – the WBA super-lightweight champion.

“I was prepared for this. I wasn’t here to just fight. I was here to terminate him,” Cruz said in the ring afterward. “There’s going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time.”

That’s saying something given the depth of a division that boasts Devin Haney, Subriel Matias, Teofimo Lopez and Gervonta “Tank” Davis as current or recent champions.

Sure, Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) lost to Davis after stepping in as a replacement fighter in 2021, but look at what he did off a full training camp Saturday, look at how his now thunderous fan base boosts his value and look at his new strap.

“It made no sense for Gervonta to fight ‘Pitbull’ Cruz until he had a belt,” Gibbons said. “Now, he has a belt. We’re not calling ‘Tank’ out. We’re not chasing him.

“People keep asking me about Gervonta Davis. It’s not about Gervonta Davis. We don’t need him in the sense that if he doesn’t want to fight … you heard this place … (Cruz) can main event on his own. If Gervonta wants to do it next, great. If not, we’ll figure out a fun defense and what to do. We know he can headline this building (T-Mobile Arena) himself. That’s what he did tonight, with 14,726 in the building.”

While Davis is pointed to a June 15 main event in Las Vegas against lightweight foe Frank Martin, Gibbons wants Cruz to return to the ring in August or September and then fight again by year’s end.

How willing is he to participate in a round-robin with the rest of the champions, after Haney fights return challenger Ryan Garcia April 20, after Matias fights June 15, and Lopez defends his belt June 29?

“You know the business. You know the promoters. You know who Teofimo is with (Bob Arum), you know who Subriel Matias is with (Eddie Hearn), you know who Devin Haney is with (himself),” Gibbons said.

“If Ryan Garcia wins, that’s the fight. If Gervonta Davis wins, that’s the fight. Those are the easiest fights to make. The other ones … Matias would be bombs away. Devin Haney’s a fantastic fighter, but who wants to watch him try to outbox ‘Pitbull?’ We want guys who come to fight. Rolly didn’t come to fight. You saw it. After he got hit, the bicycle was going.”

More than that, Cruz seized his moment, flashing all of his development from a four-month camp and bringing glory to his grandfather, Memo, who started boxing in 1966 and went on to defeat Pipino Cuevas before leaving the sport belt-less along with Cruz’s father-trainer, who retired with ‘Pitbull’ as a toddler.

“It means so much to me, to be able to enjoy this with my grandpa and my dad while both are still alive,” Cruz said with the belt on his lap at the post-fight news conference. “The fact I can carry that mantle and achieve what, unfortunately, they were unable to achieve, to take it and reach the top … that’s priceless to me.”

Gibbons basked in ‘Pitbull’s display: that fierce glare, shoulders like a linebacker, the stone-cold demeanor in the ring.

“He is a Mexican Mike Tyson. Every punch is with bad intentions. He doesn’t jab very often. He knows what he’s doing. He’s not just out there wingin’. He does things with reason,” Gibbons said.

“I would say a star was born. (PBC head) Al Haymon saw this tonight. The first PBC on Prime Video fight captured it. It’s so refreshing.”

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BOXING

ISAAC CRUZ LAYS WASTE TO ROLANDO ROMERO IN WINNING FIRST MAJOR TITLE

By
Issac Cruz

So much for words. So much for glitz and showmanship. Isaac “Pit Bull” Cruz is an anachronism, a throwback to the basic times of boxing, to the days of grainy black-and-white celluloid showing plodding guys who shuffled along in a seek-and-destroy mode.

That’s Cruz.

It certainly was Saturday night before 14,726 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora co-feature on Premier Boxing Champions’ inaugural Amazon Prime event.

Cruz (26-2-1, 18 knockouts) stopped Rolando “Rolly” Romero at :56 of the eighth round, claiming his first major title, winning the WBA junior welterweight title.

“I’m very happy and humbled to win this title for my family and for Mexico,” Cruz said. “I was prepared for this. I wasn’t here to just fight. I was here to terminate him… I did my talking right here in the ring. And I did this not just for me but for everybody that is here at T-Mobile Arena. There’s going to be a Mexican champ at 140 pounds for a long time.

“I feel great! Here were the fruits of four months of hard work reaping their rewards. This is priceless. It was just a matter of time, but damn if it doesn’t feel good to be a world champion.

“I fought with the intention to leave the decision out of the judges’ hands. Mission accomplished.”

Cruz actually won the fight in the first round. It was Rolly who was talking big, though he was the one who first registered fear.

Pit Bull came full of emotion. He swung wildly, looking to end the fight in the first minute. It took him about 90 seconds to fall into fight mode and calm down. That’s when he plowed Romero with a hammer left hook with just over a minute left in the round.

Romero (15-2, 13 KOs) was done from that point until the end of the fight. He fumbled around, trying to find his legs. But there were circuits in his head that were clearly disconnected. Rolly was fortunate to get out of the round on his feet.

That created the template that would follow, round after round. Romero went into survival gear while Cruz kept stalking, kept pouncing, trying to hit Romero anywhere and any way he could.

In the third, when Romero appeared to have his legs back, Cruz closed in on him again, walking through everything Romero threw.

As the final minute of the fourth approached, Cruz had Romero right in front of him, cornering him with thudding shots. Romero found a way to escape, but he knew he was in trouble.

As the fifth closed, Cruz smashed Romero with thudding shots to the head and the body. Romero ran away any time Cruz neared.

In the sixth, Cruz had to run after Romero again, connecting to the body, while Romero settled to throw one punch at a time rather than stand for any prolonged moment in front of Pit Bull.

By the seventh, Cruz had outlanded Romero 90-75. With 40 seconds left in the round, Cruz ripped Romero with a right uppercut, followed by a left hook, followed by a right.

Referee Tom Taylor looked at Rolly before the eighth, concerned he had little left to fend off Cruz. With 2:18 left in the eighth, Taylor stopped the action so Cruz could get tape reattached to his glove. Then Pit Bull slammed a left hook into Romero’s chin, followed by a right, left, and another punishing right before Taylor mercifully stepped in and ended it at :56 of the eighth.

“I don’t have anything to say to Gervonta (Davis), really,” Cruz said. “He can do whatever he wants, but we silenced the doubters tonight. If he isn’t scared, let’s go for the rematch. Ryan Garcia can say whatever he wants. I’ll make him eat all the trash he talks, just like I did with Rolly.

“This wasn’t just me. It was something I accomplished thanks to the support of my family.”

 

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BOXING

“You Look like a Linebacker”: Terence Crawford Reacts as Errol Spence Jr Calls Out Sebastian Fundora

By
Terence Crawford

Just a day prior to Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Errol Spence Jr. took to X and declared he wished to face the winner of Fundora vs. Tszyu at 154 lbs. As a result, after Sebastian Fundora, 26, defeated Tim Tszyu, 29, for the WBO and WBC Super-Welterweight titles, the boxer from Dallas called out ‘The Towering Inferno’. The call-out has caught the current WBA, WBO, and WBC Welterweight champion, Terence Crawford‘s notice!

In February this year, WBO President, Paco Valcarcel said that Crawford could move up to 154 lbs from 147 lbs. Therefore, if Spence Jr. now beats Fundora and wins the titles, Crawford will become his mandatory provided ‘Bud’ climbs up to Super-Welterweight. In this context, ‘Bud’ and ‘The Truth’ bantered on social media.

Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. banter on X

With a unanimous victory, the new unified Super-Welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora ended Tim Tszyu’s unbeaten career as a pro. Following Fundora’s impressive win against Tszyu at  T-Mobile Arena, Errol Spence Jr. stepped into the ring to tell Fundora that “it’s time to get it on.” As per ‘The Truth,’ now that Fundora, 6′ 5½″, has “got the big dog” i.e. Tszyu, Spence Jr. must “break him [Fundora] down“. On the other hand, Fundora was open to fighting Errol too.

“He’s one of the greats right now, he’s one of the pound-for-pound. So, if I can fight him and get a win off of him, it would be good history for me again,” replied Fundora. At this, Terence Crawford, who beat Spence Jr. black and blue, took to X to comment about Spence Jr.’s size. “@ErrolSpenceJr n***a you look like a linebacker my guy!” said ‘Bud’ in a friendly tone.

Additionally, Terence Crawford, who plans to move up to 154 lbs and fight for the Super-Welterweight titles as well, said,”@ErrolSpenceJr sorry buddy you gotta wait in line sir.” To which, Spence Jr., whose comeback will not be easy, replied, “Idk champ I don’t do lines.”

Looks like, Terence Crawford will soon move up to Super-Welterweight and challenge Sebastian Fundora for the latter’s titles. In that case, considering Spence Jr. and Crawford both will compete at 154 lbs, it is likely that we will witness a second fight between the two. But, as of now would you like to see Sebastian Fundora fight against Errol Spence Jr. next? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. For more boxing updates, follow EssentiallySports!

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BOXING

Terence Crawford reacts to Errol Spence confronting Sebastian Fundora

By
Terence Crawford
“Bud” didn’t hold back.

Terence Crawford watched Errol Spence Jr. enter the ring Saturday night and confront newly-crowned WBO/WBC junior middleweight world champion Sebastian Fundora for a potential fight. And “Bud” wasn’t feeling Spence’s move at all.

Crawford destroyed Spence last summer to become the undisputed world welterweight champion with many critics and fans alike believing he would clash with the winner of the Tim Tszyu-Fundora fight next.

However, Spence seemingly has other plans and made them known, getting to Fundora face-to-face first and even offering a destination for their potential fight.

Who fights Fundora next remains to be seen.
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BOXING

Revealed: Joshua’s company banks enormous earnings

By
Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua’s company, Sparta Promotions Limited, has profited from a growth in equity in the past year after the British heavyweight enjoyed a lucrative 2023.

The 34-year-old boxer fought three times during the calendar year, beating Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin to bounce back after suffering back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.

According to Forbes, Joshua, who has a whopping 16.9m followers on Instagram and is one of the most well-known athletes on the planet, placed 28th in the rankings for the World’s highest-paid athletes in 2023.

The outlet, Joshua currently boasts a net worth of approximately £41million ($53m) and has continued to add to his gigantic fortune in 2024, banking a another £39m his fight against Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.

That came even before he had stepped into the ring where he would go on to deliver an emphatic second-round knockout to beat the former UFC heavyweight champion.

But 2023 was a very lucrative year for the British fighter, who’s company have recorded profits of £35.9m.  

Adding to that, amid all his sponsorship deals, partnerships and business operations, Sparta Promotions have grown in equity once again, with the company’s value rising to £129m.

That’s nearly a £30m rise its equity valuation for 2022, with the former heavyweight champion paying almost £7m in tax last year.

‘When I first started, the aim was to become a multimillionaire,’ he told GQ in 2017

‘But now there are ordinary people, grandmas and granddads, who are worth millions just because of property prices. So the new school of thought is that I need to be a billionaire.

‘Being a millionaire is good, but you have to set your sights higher. If I’m making £10million from my next fight, my next target has to be making ten times that. And if I get to £100m-150m, why not go for the billion? I know self-made billionaires. It’s hard, but it’s possible.’

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BOXING

Watch Video: ‘A horror show’: Tim Tszyu’s unbeaten run ends after ugly cut in bloody war

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Tim Tszyu always delivers action-packed fights, but even he may have wanted a more relaxed fight than the one he got on Saturday night.

After Keith Thurman dropped out due to injury, the lanky, awkward Sebastian Fundora stepped in to try to take Tszyu’s WBO title and earn the vacant WBC belt. Both Tszyu and Fundora helped deliver a vintage-style battle.

Tim Tszyu suffers horrible cut from Fundora elbow

An inadvertent elbow early in the fight resulted in Tszyu developing a scary gash on the top of his head, with blood consistently pouring out. It was a miracle he was even able to finish the fight given how much blood he lost.

Fundora, in an act of solidarity, saw his face bloodied by pinpoint punches from the much-smaller but powerful Tszyu. But Fundora did well to use his reach advantage to land a ton of quick-hitting jabs and short hooks.

It was a fight of differing styles, but the two shared a common bond: blood. And neither fighter was willing to give an inch throughout, with both looking to churn out winning rounds against their tough opposition.

Fundora ended up winning by split decision. Surely, the cut played a crucial role in the outcome. We could see a rematch in the future, although Errol Spence Jr. entered the ring post-fight and said he wants to fight Fundora next.

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BOXING

LIVE: Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora turn back the clock with bloody, vicious title bout

By
Tim Tzsyu

Tim Tszyu always delivers action-packed fights, but even he may have wanted a more relaxed fight than the one he got on Saturday night.

After Keith Thurman dropped out due to injury, the lanky, awkward Sebastian Fundora stepped in to try to take Tszyu’s WBO title and earn the vacant WBC belt. Both Tszyu and Fundora helped deliver a vintage-style battle.

Tim Tszyu suffers horrible cut from Fundora elbow

An inadvertent elbow early in the fight resulted in Tszyu developing a scary gash on the top of his head, with blood consistently pouring out. It was a miracle he was even able to finish the fight given how much blood he lost.

Fundora, in an act of solidarity, saw his face bloodied by pinpoint punches from the much-smaller but powerful Tszyu. But Fundora did well to use his reach advantage to land a ton of quick-hitting jabs and short hooks.

It was a fight of differing styles, but the two shared a common bond: blood. And neither fighter was willing to give an inch throughout, with both looking to churn out winning rounds against their tough opposition.

Fundora ended up winning by split decision. Surely, the cut played a crucial role in the outcome. We could see a rematch in the future, although Errol Spence Jr. entered the ring post-fight and said he wants to fight Fundora next.

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BOXING

Watch Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz Turns Terminator To End Rolly Romero’s WBA Title Reign

By
Issac Cruz

Cruz, from Mexico City, snared the WBA’s junior welterweight title with a dominant display, not allowing Romero to get settled, pouring on the pressure from the first bell before closing the show in style.

Cruz, 26-2-1 (18 KOs), came out bombing, arcing overhand rights and swiping away with left hooks.

Romero, now 15-2 (13 KOs), was moving as the “Pitbull” chants filled the T-Mobile Arena. With around a minute left in the round, a left hook buckled Romero’s legs and he was all at sea. The crowd lost its mind, but he made it through.

Sat in his corner between rounds, Romero was doused with water, but it looked like he needed something stronger.

Cruz was clubbing away to start the second, investing to the body and then going upstairs, and Romero was trying to keep it long. But Cruz was bulling his way in, loading up and letting them go. They traded right hands to end round two.

Through the third, Rolly had done well to steady the ship. The crowd booed, indicating he was doing something right. If the crowd was frustrated, that probably meant Cruz was, too. But with a minute to go in the session, Cruz cranked up the pace after Rolly had been guilty of staying on the inside too long. Cruz did not need to be invited to work in the pocket, and he duly obliged.

The challenger burst through with a left to the body and a left upstairs in the fourth, and he rocked Romero this way and that with a follow-up barrage as the chants of ‘Me-hi-co” reverberated loudly around the arena.

Romero was warned by referee Thomas Taylor for holding in the fifth, and Taylor then deducted a point from the titleholder for the same infraction later in the session.

Romero said beforehand that he felt he had the power to keep Cruz off him, but “Pitbull” clearly disagreed. Cruz continued to surge forward, thudding in a straight right as Romero moved off to his left.

As the fight progressed, Cruz wasn’t operating at the same frenetic pace he had started with, but he still was able to land a left hook and a right hand. Then, just as Romero started to have some success with his right hand, Cruz cannoned a right uppercut off his chin and Romero was in dire straits.

The titleholder, from Las Vegas, was groggy and desperately tried to hold, but he also bravely tried to fire back to get Cruz off him.

The doctor allowed Romero to come out for the eighth, though there was an air of inevitability about where the fight was headed.

Romero would likely have welcomed the break when the action was paused to fasten tape around one of Cruz’s gloves, but as the fighters reunited in the center of the ring, Cruz crashed through Romero’s gloves with more lefts and rights. The referee had seen enough after 56 seconds of the eighth had elapsed.

The T-Mobile Arena came unglued. Romero had lost his title, and while he had shown courage, he could not stem the avalanches of hooks that eventually curtailed his night.

“Pitbull” had received a rousing ovation, both when the fans caught sight of him in the entrance tunnel before making his ringwalk and once again when he stepped between the ropes. Neither came close to his victory and his pledge to be a champion for a long time, having called out the likes of Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis, the latter of whom beat him via close decision back in December 2021.

“I was prepared for this,” said Cruz. “I wasn’t here to just fight; I was here to terminate him and make him eat everything he said.

“I am not here just as a very dangerous fighter. I now have a title that’s backing me up.”

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BOXING

LIVE VIDEO: Isaac Cruz proves Gervonta Davis wrong as he pummels Rolly Romero and stops him in total beatdown

By
Issac Cruz

Isaac Cruz battered Rolly Romero and took his WBA super-lightweight world title on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The Mexican challenger stopped the American champion in the eighth round of what was largely a one-sided beatdown.

The fight began with a dramatic opening round as Cruz pursued Romero from the opening bell.

The challenger nailed his opponent several times within the first three minutes.

By the end of the first, Romero was staggering around the ring and fortunate to avoid a knockdown.

Although the writing looked to be on the wall already, the American recovered well.

In the next two rounds, he worked patiently with his jab and began to time Cruz with his right hand.

However, momentum then swung back in the other direction as Romero was on the back foot once again.

Cruz dedicated himself to assaulting the body in rounds four and five, and the American appeared to be feeling the effects as he was deducted a point for excessive holding.

As they passed the halfway point, the contest seemed to be playing out in Cruz’s favour as he hammered Romero from pillar to post once more in the seventh.

Prior to the first bell, Gervonta Davis made his prediction of the fight between his two former foes.

He claimed Romero would win by stoppage, but was proved wrong in dramatic fashion.

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