# Rolando Romero
**Rolando Florencio Romero Moreno** (born 1995), known as "Rolly", is an American professional boxer from Las Vegas, Nevada, a two-division world champion who has held the WBA Super Lightweight and WBA Welterweight titles.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / nickname | Rolando Florencio Romero Moreno; "Rolly"[1](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Rolando_Florencio_Romero_Moreno) • [2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
| Born | 1995, Las Vegas, Nevada; trains in Las Vegas[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
| Professional record | 17 wins, 3 losses, 0 draws, with 13 knockouts (76.47% KO rate)[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
| Physical | Orthodox stance, 5'8" (1.73 m), 68-inch reach[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
| First world title | Vacant WBA Super Lightweight World Title, won May 13, 2023 by ninth-round TKO of Ismael Barroso[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
| Second world title | WBA Welterweight World Champion after defeating Ryan Garcia on May 2, 2025[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
| Most recent fight | Loss to Teofimo Lopez by majority decision, August 22, 2026, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) |
## Background and start in combat sports
Romero grew up in downtown Las Vegas, an area he describes as violent; at about seven years old, the brother of his best friend was shot and killed in front of his family's home[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). At nine he took up judo along with his younger sister Angelica, a seven-time national champion, and he placed second in the national tournaments he entered[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
Boxing came late. His father, Rolando Romero Sr., a former boxer in his native Cuba who won the Cuban national title three times, pressed him toward the sport, but Romero resisted until watching the 2012 London Olympics[1](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Rolando_Florencio_Romero_Moreno) • [2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). He gloved up for the first time as a 16-year-old at Johnny Tocco's Ringside Gym in Las Vegas[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
## Amateur career and signing
An 18-year-old Romero began a brief amateur career in 2013, compiling a 25-10 record with a third-place finish at the 2015 Olympic trials[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). His sparring sessions at Floyd Mayweather's Las Vegas gym drew Mayweather's attention, and Romero signed with him in November 2016[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
## Professional career
**Early knockouts.** In his first fight as a pro, Romero stopped David Courtney in 61 seconds in December 2016; then, during 2017, he won by TKO in the fourth round against Adrian Leyva and by second-round knockout over Johnny Estrada[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). In 2018 he won four times, three by stoppage, and in 2019 he recorded first-round knockouts of Nicolas Atilio Velazquez and Juan Carlos Cordones around a fourth-round stoppage of Andres Figueroa[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
**Interim lightweight champion.** On August 15, 2020, Romero beat the previously unbeaten Jackson Mariñez by unanimous decision, with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 118-110, to capture the interim WBA World Lightweight title[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). In 2021 he stopped Avery Sparrow in seven rounds and floored Anthony Yigit three times in a seventh-round TKO that retained his interim title[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
**First loss.** On May 28, 2022, Romero was stopped in the sixth round by [Gervonta Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/gervonta-davis) at [Barclays Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/barclays-center) in Brooklyn before a crowd of 18,970, his first professional defeat[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
**Super lightweight champion.** On May 13, 2023, in his first fight at 140 pounds, Romero survived a third-round knockdown and stopped the 40-year-old Ismael Barroso at 2:41 of the ninth round to win the vacant WBA Super Lightweight World Title[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). The stoppage by referee Tony Weeks was widely considered premature, and press coverage described the win as a controversial stoppage[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157) • [3](https://islamabadpost.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/15-05-2023.pdf). Romero himself said Barroso "should have been allowed to continue"[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
**Loss to Cruz.** In the first defense of that title, on March 30, 2024, Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz wobbled Romero repeatedly and finished him in the eighth round at [T-Mobile Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-mobile-arena)[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157). Romero returned in September 2024 with a unanimous decision over Manuel Jaimes[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
**Welterweight champion.** On May 2, 2025, Romero moved up to welterweight and upset the heavily favored [Ryan Garcia](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-garcia) in the first public boxing match in [Times Square](https://www.edgepedia.org/times-square), dropping Garcia in the second round with a left hook and winning a 12-round unanimous decision (115-112 on two cards, 118-109 on the third) for the WBA regular 147-pound title; he was later upgraded to full WBA Welterweight World Champion[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
**Loss to Lopez.** On August 22, 2026, Romero defended the welterweight title against [Teofimo Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/teofimo-lopez) at T-Mobile Arena and lost a narrow majority decision, making Lopez a three-division world champion[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
## Fighting style
Romero is known for awkward, unpredictable attacks and heavy punching power. Commentators credit his power with keeping him in high-profile discussions despite technical flaws; [Roy Jones Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-jones-jr) has said Romero's punching power changes fights and balances out his boxing weaknesses[4](https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/roy-jones-says-rolly-romeros-power-balances-out-his-boxing-flaws). Analysts list his strengths as awkward power punching, physical strength, and fearless aggression, and his weaknesses as an upright posture, chin exposure after punching, and a tendency to pull straight back[5](https://boxrope.com/blogs/boxing/can-rolly-romero-shock-the-world). Romero has described himself as a combination of [Naseem Hamed](https://www.edgepedia.org/naseem-hamed) and Roberto Duran and as an explosive counter-puncher[2](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157).
## References
1. [Rolando Florencio Romero Moreno, BoxRec](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Rolando_Florencio_Romero_Moreno)
2. [Rolando Romero, Premier Boxing Champions](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/fighters/570157)
3. [Rolando Romero wins on controversial stoppage, Islamabad Post (May 2023)](https://islamabadpost.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/15-05-2023.pdf)
4. [Roy Jones Jr says Rolly Romero's power changes fights, Boxing247](https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/roy-jones-says-rolly-romeros-power-balances-out-his-boxing-flaws)
5. [Can Rolly Romero Shock the World?, Boxrope](https://boxrope.com/blogs/boxing/can-rolly-romero-shock-the-world)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Boxing › American boxers › Active and recent boxers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license