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Boxing Odds – Ismael Barroso vs. Rolando Romero
By Phil Simon
The vacant WBA world super lightweight title is up for grabs with hard-hitting contender Rolando Romero battling veteran Ismael Barroso for the interim belt. Originally the night was to feature division champ Alberto Puello in his first title defense against Romero. However, Puello was recently removed from the card following a positive test for a banned substance allowing mandatory challenger Barroso to step into the ring. Though he’s more than 10 years older than Romero, that experience of different fighters and styles will benefit Barroso. Both boxers have high KO percentages with 12 of Romero’s 14 wins coming by KO. Barroso has 22 KOs among his 24 victories, so there’s a good chance this one doesn’t go to the judges.
Boxing Betting Odds
Rolando Romero (Check Back Later)
Ismael Barroso (Check Back Later)
Rounds: (Check Back Later)
The 12-round bout for the WBA world super lightweight belt between Ismael Barroso ( 24-3-2, 22 knockouts ) and Rolando Romero ( 14-1, 12 knockouts ) will be held at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, May 13, 2023. This is the main event on a three-fight card. The action begins at 9 p.m. ET and can be seen on Showtime pay-per-view.
Ismael Barroso vs. Rolondo Romero Fight Preview
The circumstances surrounding Puello threw the division into chaos. The undefeated Dominican was set to defend the title he won last year in a split decision over Batyr Akhmedov for the first time against Romero. However, a failed test for an illegal substance forced the governing body to vacate his title and, though it hasn’t been made official yet, most expect Puello to be stripped of his belt. With Barroso set to take on the winner of the original bout, things just got moved up with Puello out of the picture.
You don’t often see a fighter get a shot at the belt coming off a loss in his previous bout, but that’s exactly what happened to Romero. He stepped up in competition to tangle with WBA lightweight champ Gervonta Davis last May only to suffer the first setback of his career. Having done the KOing himself through his first 14 fights with 12 of them by knockout, Romero saw how the other half lives.
Sent to the canvas twice in the first round, Romero never recovered eventually getting stopped in the seventh round. Despite having a marvelous career to this point, Romero’s last fight brought issues to the forefront. Things he got away with in earlier bouts, mainly not playing defense, were exploited, and Davis for the most part avoided damage from Romero’s thunderous blows.
The hope for Romero’s handlers is that the fighter learned a few things. You have to play a tactical game sometimes and Rolly lacked patience last time out. His failure in the biggest fight to date of his career left many wondering if he even deserves a shot at the title.
There’s a fine line between confident and cocky and Romero walks it constantly. His pre-fight comments whipped Davis into a frenzy and the contest was basically over before it even got started. Romero hasn’t been as vocal ahead of this bout, but there’s still time.
Much like Davis, Barroso is a skilled fighter with a number of bouts and rounds under his belt. He’s also riding a four-fight winning streak into the ring, three of which were by KO. Last time out Barroso used Fernando David Saucedo as a punching bag scoring a fourth round KO as a massive favorite. His two other KO wins in that span never made it to the third round with Nestor Hugo Paniagua hitting the mat in the first round and Enrique Martin Escobar going down in the second.
Showing he still has stamina at this stage in his career, Barroso scored a unanimous 12-round decision over Yves Ulysse Jr. in late 2019.
Bet Ismael Barroso vs. Rolondo Romero at BetRivers.com
Romero has solid skills that he’s yet to harness. He was exposed against a better fighter losing to Davis last time out and faces another tough opponent in Barroso. At this point I’m just not convinced Rolly is ready for the big stage while his counterpart, though up in age, can still throw haymakers. Barroso has won over 91 percent of his fights by KO and with Romero failing to defend himself, another is on the way.
Boxing Odds Pick: Ismael Barroso / KO
