I didn’t expect a 40-year-old to hit the hardest – but he proved age brings a different kind of power. I only Discovered “After fighting Davis and Garcia
Rolly Romero has shared the ring with some massive punchers – but none of them hit as hard as Ismael Barroso.
Romero squared off against Barroso in his first fight back since falling to defeat at the hands of Gervonta Davis.
Rolly had been knocked out in the sixth round by ‘Tank’ for the WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title in May 2022.
But 12 months later, he was handed the opportunity to box for the WBA super lightweight crown
Romero was initially matched up with Alberto Puello, who held the black and gold strap at the time.
However, the Dominican was stripped of his belt after failing a pre-fight drugs test.
As a result, Barroso stepped in with two weeks’ notice to compete for the vacant title.
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Romero went on to stop the 40-year-old Venezuelan in the ninth round, but only after tasting his power.
Barroso sent Romero tumbling to the canvas in the third stanza courtesy of a looping left.
During an appearance on the Danza Project podcast, Romero said: “Tank doesn’t punch that hard. He just lands a clean shot, and a lot of us are either too small or completely dehydrated.
“With Barroso, though, that motherf****** hits hard.
“After the fight, this whole side of my body was f****** sore, and I didn’t want to exchange with that motherf*****. He punched too hard.
Barroso has finished 23 of his 25 professional wins (25-5-2) inside the distance and is known as a one-punch knockout artist.
His power was on full display last January when he flattened Ohara Davies inside the opening stanza in an age-defying performance for the interim WBA super lightweight title.
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Romero, meanwhile, has come on leaps and bounds since his comeback win over Barroso.
In victory, he scooped the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title and is now the frontrunner to box Manny Pacquiao as the Filipino icon continues down the comeback trail.