Junior welterweight contender Ismael Barroso is hoping for justice after his controversial stoppage loss at the hands of Rolando “Rolly” Romero, which took place earlier this month in Las Vegas.
The victory gave Romero the vacant WBA world title.
During the fight, Romero had a lot of issues dealing with the punching power of Barroso, who scored a knockdown early in the bout.
In the ninth round, Barroso got buzzed and went down from push by Romero. Referee Tony Weeks scored it as a knockdown. After Barroso got to his feet, Romero went for the finish with a barrage of punches. Most of the punches missed their mark, but referee Tony Weeks – who some felt was standing in a bad viewing position – jumped in to wave off the fight. Weeks assumed Barroso was under fire and in trouble.
Barroso was ahead on the cards at the time of the stoppage and wants the outcome overturned.
“We feel a little upset. Unfortunately, it was an injustice that they did to me and the team because it was not two days or two months, we had been working for this opportunity for a long time, but we hope, God willing, a solution will come, a rematch, something that will make us fight with him again,” Barroso told George Ebro.
“When I saw that the referee was Tony Weeks I felt happy. I was happy because he was a referee with so much experience, recognized worldwide. I told myself that I was proud to be there with him as a referee, but it is the worst decision I have made in my career. We were ahead on the cards, when I hit him it hurt. For me the victory was just a matter of time.
“The promoter Laura Ching, my manager William Ramírez and my trainer Osmiri Fernández have sent letters demanding certain things from the WBA and Las Vegas. We hope that a solution will come. Those who know about boxing saw a badly stopped fight, an injustice against me.”
Leading up to the fight, there were many observers who felt the 40-year-old boxer had the appearance of someone much older – like a 60-year-old man.
Barroso heard all of the comments and felt that his performance proved otherwise.
“Honestly, I expected a better Rolando Romero. A stronger puncher, who hit and pounded hard, but the rounds went by and I didn’t feel it. Some punches he did land on me clearly, but I never felt the power of him the way people painted him out to be. I’ve fought stronger boxers who hit harder than him,” Barroso said.
“Our strength comes from God. For me, 40 is a shtick and I think the Cuban tried the shtick [in our fight]. He saw what we are made of. People got confused. They said that I was a grandfather, an old man. But the old man is hungry and he beats anyone.”