Paulie Malignaggi has weighed in on Rolly Romero’s controversial stoppage win over Ismael Barroso this past weekend, and has not pulled any punches.
Barroso was up on all three of the judges’ scorecards cards and seemingly on his way to becoming world champion, before referee Tony Weeks waved the contest off in the ninth round.
Weeks’ decision has come under universal criticism from the boxing world, with many ranking the stoppage as amongst the worst the sport has ever seen.
Speaking on his YouTube channel Paulie TV, Malignaggi agreed with that sentiment, describe the call as “criminal.”
“I thought the knockdown was a push-down. Okay, you can forgive that mistake, but you cannot forgive the stoppage.”
“This is a theme in boxing, and it’s horrible. The reason it’s not a mistake. People talk about judges or when a ref makes a call, ‘What was he thinking?’ No, bro. They were thinking.”
“Nobody can convince me that these bad random scorecards or these bad random referee calls. First of all, this is the worst referee call that I’ve ever seen. Possibly worse than [Meldrick] Taylor & [Julio Cesar] Chavez. Barroso is not even hurt. He’s fighting back. He’s just fatigued, he’s not hurt.”
“That stoppage was criminal, and when you put it into play for what Barroso needs in his life and how he probably needed this win. What is boxing going to do? Somebody should demand a rematch. Showtime should make the rematch. Should demand the rematch.”
The contest was for the vacant WBA super lightweight title, after previous champion Alberto Puello tested positive for Clomifine and was named “champion in recess.”
Romero was considered fortunate by many to land a fight for the title, given he has campaigned as a lightweight throughout is career and suffered a defeat in his last bout.