---
title: "Rolly Romero: Expect To See Me With The World Title On Saturday"
canonical: "https://boxing-social.com/news/rolly-romero-promises-world-title/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Tom Eaton"
section: "News"
published: "2023-05-12T21:10:27Z"
modified: "2023-05-12T21:10:27Z"
---

# Rolly Romero: Expect To See Me With The World Title On Saturday

Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero and Ismael Barroso have found themselves in a fantastic position ahead of their bout this Saturday.

Romero was scheduled to fight Barroso for the WBA Interim Super-Lightweight title, with the winner poised to challenge Alberto Puello for the full WBA World belt. However, Puello has since been stripped, meaning Romero-Barroso will be for the true world honours.

Puello was originally scheduled to make the first defence of his champion status against Romero, after defeating Botirzhon Akhmedov by split-decision for the vacant WBA title nine months prior.

[However, the Dominican Republican was pulled from the fight after failing a VADA drug test](https://www.boxingscene.com/rolly-romero-on-puellos-ped-test-failure-lot-these-motherf-on-sht--174503), testing positive for clomiphene, the same drug that Conor Benn tested positive for. ‘Rolly’ found a new opponent in Barroso, who was the WBA’s mandatory challenger.

After an investigation, Puello has been named as a ‘champion in recess’ and has thus lost his title. [Therefore, Romero’s 140lb debut will be for the WBA belt](https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/37596013/rolly-romero-ismael-barroso-vie-wba-140-pound-title) after never challenging for a recognised world honour in his career, in what must be a rarity for the sport.

To add to the uniqueness of how events have played out, ‘Rolly’ is also coming off of a loss, picking up the first defeat of his career when stopped in the sixth-round against Gervonta Davis almost a year ago. [He told fans](https://www.ringtv.com/652803-rolly-romero-and-ismael-barroso-vow-to-bring-on-the-fireworks-on-saturday/) he would be champion come Saturday night.

> “Everyone can expect to see ‘Rolly’ with the world title around his waist Saturday night. Every fighter that boxes dreams of becoming world champion, so it would be a dream come true. All belts mean the same to me. My interim belt meant a lot to me too. I’m just blessed to be in the position to get my hands on another one.”

Like his American opponent, 40-year-old Barroso has challenged for and won ‘regular’ and interim belts in the past, but the Venezuelan has never had the opportunity to become a world champion.

British fans may remember him for his defeat to Anthony Crolla in 2016 where he was stopped by a body shot in the seventh-round, but with three early knockouts in his last four fights, Barroso will be hoping that he is the reason the final bell is not heard this weekend.

[Both men will fancy their chances as power-punchers on Saturday night](https://www.dazn.com/en-US/news/boxing/rolando-romero-vs-ismael-barroso-date-start-time-tv-channel-and-live-stream/4d54zs6op3jx1i0qyhal8v9s2), with 86% of Romero’s wins not requiring the judges and 92% of Barroso’s twenty-four wins being by knockout.