Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero finally made his comeback after suffering a devastating loss at the hands of Isaac Cruz earlier this year, recording his second career defeat. While most expected a knockout performance from Rolly this time around, the Las Vegas resident could barely muster a win against his  24-year-old opponent Manuel Jaimes on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga. 

After ten rounds of a sluggish battle, Romero, who seemed more active throughout the fight, emerged victorious via a unanimous decision. The judges, Tim Cheatham, Patricia Morse Jarman, and Steve Weisfeld, scored the fight 99-91, 99-91, and 99-91 all in Romero’s favor. However, a mere win wasn’t enough for voices in the community to be satisfied with the lack of action in the ring. 

Rolando Romero got exactly what he was looking for

In fact, neither fighter seemed completely committed to taking the risk, as the first round saw Romero land just three shots and Jaimes just two. Interestingly, double numbers from Jaimes only came in the eighth and ninth rounds during the entire fight, making Romero’s win a bit too obvious. However, speaking about his opponent and the fight, Romero said, “I needed a tough 10-round fight against someone hungry and that’s what I got tonight.”

He went as far as to claim that he did a lot of things that he should have done in his prior fights, which he lost. “Jaimes was coming forward a lot, but I was controlling the pace. The fight was going how I wanted it to. In the later rounds. I started coming forward more and landing more body shots,” Romero added. Regardless of his thoughts about the fight, the people watching seemed to have other ideas.

Does Rolly need more work?

While Romero clearly was the more dominant boxer, his performance wasn’t without lapses. One user wrote, “Rolly Romero has reason to smile but not his best winning UD. Lots of work to do in quest to regain a title at 140.” Notably, Romero’s WBA title is currently in Jose Valenzuela‘s possession, a fight that doesn’t seem impossible to make. 

Another claimed, “Romero landing some bombs on Jaimes. All that Jaimes is doing is lunging forward and hugging Rolly. @DAZNBoxing commentary box just eating the layers of Jaimes’ meat. Shame‼️” Interestingly, Romero seemed much more defensive in his approach, as opposed to his usual attacking nature. 

Meanwhile, veteran boxing matchmaker and IBHOF elector Rick Glaser chimed in, noting, “Both #StephenFulton & #RollyRomero were victorious, but both are shot. Realize & recognize.” Rolly is just 28 years old, so he has the potential to make a crazy comeback, which is possible after this win. 

Reacting to the fight, Ring Magazine journalist Jake Donovan wrote, “Ten rounds done. Ro-Lee Romero attempts to shake hands with Jaimes’ corner, until he realized it was a NSAC inspector 😂. Romero wins 99-91 on all three cards. Marked up a bit but otherwise a solid performance.” Out of breath and filled with adrenaline, such mistakes aren’t unheard of. 

Even DAZN Boxing’s own Sergio Mora expressed thoughts about the fight, writing, “Rolly Romero bouncing back nicely with a more cautious performance against the once beaten Manuel Jaimes.” If Romero can enhance his defensive play, his entire game may change going forward. 

Despite winning the bout, Rolly Romero still has significant work ahead if he wants to return to the top and successfully get his titles back. Do you think he has what it takes to make it back?