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?

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.”

Isaac Cruz has taken aim at the “chihuahua” Rolando Romero and mocked the WBA super-lightweight title holder for his one-sided defeat by Gervonta Davis.

“Rolly” Romero, 28, defends his title against Cruz on March 30 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

“Tank” Davis is a common opponent for both. Davis-Cruz, which concluded with Davis being awarded a narrow unanimous decision, was one of the fights of 2021. In 2022 Romero was out-fought, out-boxed and halted by Davis in six rounds.

Romero’s following fight ended in a controversial victory, when Ismael Barroso was bafflingly stopped in the seventh round by the referee Tony Weeks, earning Romero the WBA super-lightweight title..

“Against Gervonta Davis, Romero did nothing,” the 25-year-old Cruz told Premier Boxing Champions. “He is a real chihuahua who spends his time talking just like a chihuahua who doesn’t attack at all.

“I am at my best, and that’s why I lasted all 12 rounds and became only the second fighter Davis couldn’t knock out in his career.

“He just talks and talks. We are coming to bury him to show he is just a talker and not a fighter.”

Romero-Cruz on the undercard of Tim Tszyu-Keith Thurman.