Looks like Ismael Barroso won’t be getting the rematch he deserves, as the WBA has ordered newly crowned champion Rolando Romero to defend his super lightweight title against mandatory challenger Ohara Davies.
The pair have until June 29th to come to terms and until September 12th to share a ring.
Davies (25-2, 18 KO), now nearly six years removed from his drubbing at the hands of JOsh Taylor, has won seven straight since falling to Jack Catterall in 2018. Though that run began with a questionable decision over the eternally shafted Miguel Vazquez, he went on to beat Tyrone McKenna in the Golden Contract finals and crush Lewis Ritson with a body shot this past March.
“Two Tanks,” whose nickname produces a beautiful mashup of Monty Python and Neil Cicierega in my head, has a golden opportunity here to snag a world title. Romero (15-1, 13 KO) pales in comparison to the likes of Regis Prograis and Subriel Matias, and if “Rolly” looks as poor as he did against Barroso, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Davies join Taylor as a champion.