Famous boxing commentator Jim Lampley feels that Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero was “intimidated” by the aggression from Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Saturday night in their chief support bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It was a psychological defeat for Ryan well before the fight had ended, with giving up trying to win early on and focusing on trying not to get knocked out.
Lampley thinks that former WBA light welterweight champion Rolly’s loss was partly a result of his fighting defensively, leaning back when throwing punches, which took away the power of his punches.
Initially, Rolly fought aggressively in the first round, but after being wobbled badly from a left hand by Pitbull Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), he fought with little self-belief from that point forward, running from his smaller opponent, who was coming up in weight from the 135-lb division for title un-earned title shot.
Pitbull’s Aggression Overwhelms Rolly
“He looked intimidated. He looked like he was taken aback by the level of violent aggression that Pitbull brings to the ring,” said former HBO commentator Jim Lampley to the Fight Hub TV YouTube channel when asked how Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero looked in his fight against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Saturday night.
When Rolly’s form broke down, his punches were ineffective, and it was one-sided from that point. If he had chosen to stand his ground, he would have stood a better chance of winning, even though he probably would have eventually still been knocked out.
The Fight Was Lost Before it Was Over
“He [Rolly] looked good up to a point, but when you’re pulling back your upper body while trying to deliver punches, those punches don’t have any force on them. And when you are intimidated out of going forward to try to asset your power, then you’re not going to get anywhere. So, as rounds went on, he wasn’t in the fight,” said Lampley.
Rolly’s fate was sealed when he stopped sitting down on his shots, considering he wasn’t going to hold off Pitbull with his weak jab, and he lacked the wheels to move for three minutes of every round without tiring.
