Only 20 seconds were left on the clock before the ninth round was to be concluded. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero had Ismael Barrosso in the corner, and then it happened. The referee stopped the contest while Barroso took the blows with a tired look on his face, but not hurt. The controversial decision soon blew up on the internet and overshadowed ‘Rolly’s champion moment. Now, the American has opened up about what transpired that night.

Romero was trailing on all three judges’ scorecards, and on total punches and power punches landed. However, he had a perfect game plan. “To gas him out,” Romero said on CigarTalks.

Rolando Romero relives the Ismael Barroso fight

The WBA champion went down memory lane when he sat down with Naji. When asked about his last fight, Romero admitted, “I ain’t gonna lie, man. I went in there. My whole goal with him was to gas him out and take him after six. He diminishes after six, and that’s what I did.”

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The super lightweight champion caught Barroso with jabs that worked wonders after the sixth. But there was one problem with the fight. The referee stopped it early. Romero believes a knockout would have soon followed otherwise.

“The only problem with that fight in reality, was that it was stopped a little prematurely. But Barroso didn’t contest it was badly stopped. He was in relief because he was about to get knocked out cold. If you look at Barroso’s face, he is like, ‘Thank you for f*king saving my life’,“ Romero continued.

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Following this, when asked about the controversial nature of the fight, Romero declared, “I’m a controversial person already. Anything I do, say, or anything is going to be controversial.” Since that title-clinching performance, the fans have been waiting to see how the Las Vegas native performs in his first title defense. While he was about to face Ryan Garcia, he opted out for Isaac Cruz for a showdown on March 30.

‘Rolly Romero’ labels Isaac Cruz more exciting than Ryan Garcia

The 15-1 record holder believes ‘Pitbull’ is a more exciting opponent than ‘KingRy‘. Citing Cruz’s durability and punching power, he has called him a more difficult fight than Garcia. Aggression also tips the scales in Cruz’s favor.

Despite being in talks with the Garcia camp, Romero had expressed that the fight was never close to materializing. The offer on the table was “bullsh*t” and the miscommunication in Garcia’s camp only worsened the situation. Is there a chance the two will meet in the future? Romero hopes so.

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What do you make of these comments by ‘Rolly’ Romero? Let us know in the comments below.