Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas – Ismael Barroso (24-4-2, 22 KOs) was shocked, when referee Tony Weeks stepped in to wave off his fight with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (15-1, 12 KOs) in the ninth round.
Romero, who was down in the third round and behind on all three scorecards, was awarded a ninth round TKO to capture the vacant WBA junior welterweight title.
During the ninth, Romero rocked Barroso with combination but then put him down to the mat with more of a push. Weeks ruled it was a knockdown.
Once the action resumed, Romero went after Barroso and pressed him against the ropes to let loose with combinations. Barroso was able to avoid most of the shots, appeared to be perfectly fine and was fighting back. Without warning, Weeks jumped in and waved off the contest.
Barroso still has no idea what happened at the end.
“I am fine. I think it was an injustice to stop the fight. I was landing the better shots,” Barroso said.
“It was a push on the first knockdown. It wasn’t a big blow or anything. The referee just stopped the fight and he didn’t say anything. You can see it clearly. I’m the one who’s hitting him. There was nothing clear that he hit me with. I don’t understand why they stopped the fight.”
Up until recently, Alberto Puello was the WBA champion. He was scheduled to defend the belt against Romero.
However, Puello tested positive for a banned substance and was ultimately demoted to “champion in recess” by the sanctioning body. Barroso was the mandatory challenger to the WBA strap. He was already scheduled to see action on the undercard and stepped in on late notice to face Romero in the main event.