Matias Romero: record, next fight and profile →
Ennis, Dulorme Weights Photos Gallery - The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and features rising welterweight star Jaron “Boots” Ennis in a 10-round showdown against veteran contender Thomas Dulorme in the co-main event. Kicking off the telecast, exciting unbeaten lightweight contender Michel Rivera faces Argentina’s Matías Romero in a 10-round attraction.
LAS VEGAS – Jamal James stands 6-feet-2, unusually tall for a boxer in the 147-pound division. The defending WBA world welterweight champion still came in nearly two full pounds underweight Friday for his fight against Radzhab Butaev on Saturday night. Minneapolis’ James (27-1, 12 KOs) stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale at 145.2 pounds, well below the maximum for the welterweight division.
Ennis, Dulorme Final Press Conference Photos Gallery - WBA welterweight champion Jamal “Shango” James and unbeaten contender Radzhab Butaev went face-to-face at a final press conference Thursday before they meet in the SHOWTIME main event this Saturday, October 30 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. (photos by Esther Lin)
David Benavidez’s victory Saturday night drew more viewers than the former super middleweight champion’s previous appearance on Showtime. Nielsen Media Research reported Tuesday that an average of 230,000 viewers watched Benavidez’s 11th-round, technical-knockout victory over Ronald Ellis. Viewership peaked at 260,000 early in the scheduled 12-round main event between Benavidez and Ellis at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Isaac Cruz didn’t expect a replica of his last fight but certainly didn’t expect the dull affair that came of his latest ring assignment. The streaking lightweight contender managed to remain in the win column, following a 12-round unanimous decision win over unbeaten Matias Romero in their Showtime televised title eliminator Saturday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The feat left Cruz (21-1-1, 15KOs) as the mandatory challenger to the WBA lightweight title, though the bout left a bad taste with home viewers—and quite frankly with the winner himself.
Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. - Isaac Cruz (21-1-1, 15 KOs) of Mexico City earned a unanimous decision victory over Argentina’s Matias Romero (24-1, 8 KOs) in a 12-round WBA Lightweight Title Eliminator. It marked the first time that the 22-year-old Cruz went 12 rounds in his professional career.
It was never easy for Isaac Cruz but well worth the journey in the end. The 5’4” lightweight from Mexico City did his best to turn a wrestling match into a fight, though was properly compensated in a 12-round unanimous decision win over Matias Romero. Judges Glenn Feldman (114-113).
The odds suggest that Matias Romero is in well over his head. As much is not lost on the unbeaten Argentinean, who—despite boasting an unbeaten record—is a considerable underdog heading into his scheduled 12-round title eliminator versus Mexico City’s Isaac Cruz (20-1-1, 15KOs). Romero is placed at +550 according to sportsbook bet365 for his U.S. debut, which airs live on Showtime from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut (Saturday 9:00 p.m. ET).
Isaac Cruz rose to the occasion in his last fight, which happened to come on the biggest stage of his career. A 53-second knockout of Diego Magdaleno immediately catapulted Mexico City’s Cruz into the title picture. It didn’t at all hurt his profile that the win came on a Showtime Pay-Per-View card headlined by rising superstar Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, who scored a highlight reel knockout of his own in flattening Leo Santa Cruz inside of six rounds last October.
Gausha vs. Clark, Cruz vs. Romero Weights Photos Gallery - Undefeated two-time world champion David Benavidez will meet dangerous veteran Ronald Ellis in a 12-round WBC Super Middleweight Title Eliminator in the main event of a stacked tripleheader on Saturday, March 13 live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. in a Premier Boxing Champions event. (photos by Amanda Westcott)