It wasn’t meant to be this way. Rolando Romero should have been fighting the unbeaten Alberto Puello in an enthralling clash of young super lightweight talent. Instead, Puello failed a drug test and Ismael Barroso, the grizzled veteran, has stepped up to take his place.
What follows is now a contest for Puello’s vacant WBA World Super Lightweight belt. Or at least, it will hopefully be a contest. With Barroso into his 40s and taking this fight at short notice, there’s every chance fans will see a rather one-sided contest in Las Vegas over the weekend. Regardless, there’s always good betting to be had, which we outline below with the latest odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 12th, 2:00 A.M. (GMT)
It’s no surprise that the odds here are heavily skewed in Romero’s favour. The American is paying 1.10 to win this fight, well ahead of Barroso’s 6.50. Bookmaker William Hill is expecting this to be a knockout as well, only offering 1.25 for a Romero early finish. Other odds are longer with Romero paying 5.00 for a decision and Barroso 9.00 for a knockout.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 12th, 2:00 A.M. (GMT)
Betting on this title fight isn’t really a question of who will win. With Romero coming in 13 years younger than Barroso, he simply should have too much power and spring in his step for the fading veteran. Sure, Romero is coming into this fight off the back of his first ever loss—but that was against the world class Gervonta Davis, which speaks more to his ability that he was able to enter the ring with Davis.
While Barroso comes into Saturday night riding a four-fight winning streak, the reality is he’s never looked the same since losing three out of four fights between 2016 and 2018. He’s no stranger to title fights, but this fight feels like Barroso picking up a cheque.
Betting on rounds and at either end of the fight is the most profitable approach here. Will Romero end this one quickly or can Barroso exceed expectations and take this one deep? We say that the latter is more realistic—Romero will be cautiously respectful of the veteran’s experience. It’s more likely that he chips away at his defense before scoring a late knockout than it is that Romero charges out and finishes this early. Back Romero to win in round 10-12 for a 6.50 return.
