Rolando Romero got back in the win column on September 14, when he faced Manuel Jaimes on the Canelo vs Berlanga undercard at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The local favorite defeated his Stockton-based opponent by decision. After 10 rounds at super lightweight, all three scores were 99-91.
Former world champion “Rolly” Romero went through the ropes for the second time this year. In his previous outing in March at the same venue, the Las Vegas native was stopped by Isaac Cruz in the eighth round and lost his WBA 140 lbs belt. With the victory over Jaimes, the 28-year-old returned to winning ways and improved to 16-2, 13 KOs. He is now looking for another world title opportunity.
“I needed a tough 10-round fight against someone hungry and that’s what I got tonight,” Romero said. “I was doing a lot of stuff tonight that I should have done in my earlier fights.”
“Jaimes was coming forward a lot, but I was controlling the pace. The fight was going how I wanted it to. In the later rounds I started coming forward more and landing more body shots. Hopefully I’m fighting for a title next. I have my eye on any of the champions.”
24-year-old Manuel Jaimes of San Jose, California, who fought for the third time in 2024, dropped to 16-2-1, 11 KOs. The defeat snapped his four-fight winning streak.
“The judges saw what they saw, I’d have to watch the tape to be able to score it myself,” Jaimes said. “I could have been more active, that would have helped me land more.”