Rolando “Rolly” Romero Elevated to WBA Welterweight Champion After Jaron Ennis Vacates Title

Rolando “Rolly” Romero has been elevated to WBA welterweight champion by the World Boxing Association. Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) recently won the WBA ‘regular’ 147-lb title with a victory over Ryan Garcia on May 2nd at Times Square. Now, with Jaron ‘Boots’ 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.

Impact on Rolly’s Reign

It’s not the ideal way for Rolly to capture the WBA full welterweight title, but he won’t mind. He seems to be focused on getting the most lucrative fights available to him while he can against Manny Pacquiao and Ryan Garcia.

Two changes that will have an immediate impact on Rolly

• 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’ll 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’s dreaming of against Manny Pacquiao or Ryan Garcia, he’s going to have to do it soon to avoid being stripped.
• More 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 ‘paper champion,’ which many fans already view him as.

WBA Title Legitimacy

The reaction from fans to Rolly’s elevation by the WBA has been negative. He’d won his WBA ‘regular’ 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 ‘regular’ title instead of Ryan.

For Rolly to be elevated from ‘regular’ 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 ‘paper champion’ in the eyes of fans.