Rolly Romero Elevated To Full Time Champion

Rolando “Rolly” Romero’s rise to becoming a two-division WBA titleholder is a wild ride when you look at the context. Despite entering the welterweight title picture without a signature win at 147 pounds. Romero’s upset over Ryan Garcia gave him the WBA’s vacant “regular” welterweight title in May a belt many view as secondary to the one Jaron “Boots” Ennis held. But now that Ennis has officially moved up to 154 pounds. Following his April TKO of Stanionis (and is now ranked No. 2 by the WBA at junior middleweight), Romero has been upgraded to full titleholder status.

This isn’t Romero’s first title upgrade either. He was previously elevated after controversially stopping Ismael Barroso for the WBA 140-lb title in 2023. Only to lose that belt to Isaac Cruz in March. Now, with the welterweight scene shifting and Ennis gone, Romero finds himself once again with a world title this time at 147.

The next logical move for the WBA would be to mandate a title defense against the unbeaten Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs). Who has been patiently waiting as the top contender since October and recently scored a KO win on the Ennis vs Stanionis undercard. Giyasov stepped aside for that unification, but now it may finally be his turn.