Rolando \u201cRolly\u201d Romero has been elevated to WBA welterweight champion by the World Boxing Association. Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) recently won the WBA \u2018regular\u2019 147-lb title with a victory over Ryan Garcia on May 2nd at Times Square. Now, with Jaron \u2018Boots\u2019 Ennis vacating his WBA title to move up to the 154-lb weight class, the WBA has moved Romero to their full WBA 147-lb champion on August 1st.<\/p>\n
Impact on Rolly\u2019s Reign<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the ideal way for Rolly to capture the WBA full welterweight title, but he won\u2019t mind. He seems to be focused on getting the most lucrative fights available to him while he can against Manny Pacquiao and Ryan Garcia.<\/p>\n
Two changes that will have an immediate impact on Rolly<\/p>\n
Mandatory defenses: As the full WBA champion, Romero will be required to defend against the mandatory challenger. This means that when the WBA orders him to defend against #1 contender Shakhram Giyasov, he\u2019ll have from 9-12 months to do so or be stripped of his title. If Rolly is going to get the lucrative fights that he\u2019s dreaming of against Manny Pacquiao or Ryan Garcia, he\u2019s going to have to do it soon to avoid being stripped.
\nMore pressure: Romero will be expected to defend his WBA belt against top contenders to be viewed as a true champion. Choosing bottom feeders or fighters outside of the 147-lb division would make Rolly look like a fake \u2018paper champion,\u2019 which many fans already view him as.<\/p>\n
WBA Title Legitimacy<\/p>\n
The reaction from fans to Rolly\u2019s elevation by the WBA has been negative. He\u2019d won his WBA \u2018regular\u2019 welterweight title by beating an inactive 140-pounder, Ryan Garcia, who was coming off a 12-month suspension. The WBA should have required that Romero fight #1-ranked Shakhram Giyasov for the \u2018regular\u2019 title instead of Ryan.<\/p>\n
For Rolly to be elevated from \u2018regular\u2019 WBA champion to the full one, he should have then been required to fight Giyasov for the belt to earn it the right way. Giyasov had already been waiting for his chance to fight for the belt since the former Jaron Ennis captured the WBA belt against Eimantas Stanionis. If Romero had fought and beaten Giyasov, he would have been viewed as a true WBA champion instead of a \u2018paper champion\u2019 in the eyes of fans.<\/p>\n
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