They F*cking Stole From Him’: CBS’s Luke Thomas Furious After Ref’s Premature TKO Call ‘Steals’ Victory from Boxer

Ahmad Austin Jr.May 15th, 2023, 5:08 pm
 

The super lightweight boxing match between Rolando “Rolly” Romero and Ismael Barroso set the boxing world ablaze for all the wrong reasons.

Although Romero was heavily favored going into Saturday’s bout in Las Vegas, his eventual win has come under intense scrutiny after veteran referee Tony Weeks made the confusing decision to stop the fight and declare Romero the winner by technical knockout (TKO) in the ninth round. Soon after, it was revealed that the underdog Barroso was ahead on the judge’s score cards. He endured a barrage of punches from Romero and was still fighting back, but Weeks still elected to stop the fight.

Even the commentators couldn’t refrain from expressing their shock at the call.

Immediately after the fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission — the sanctioning body for combat sports in the state — announced none of its representatives would be speaking to the press. The commission also said Weeks would not be available to media.

Luke Thomas, a combat sports analyst for CBS Sports, took to his Morning Kombat podcast to blast the commission for their handling of the situation. He briefly touched on Barroso’s upbringing in Venezuela to emphasize that the biggest opportunity of his career was unjustly taken from him.

“People were noting when the stoppage first happened, he didn’t really complain,” Thomas said. “Guys, this is a humble man. This is not a guy who ever had shit handed to him, who ever got lucky once in this life. He is used to the world fucking him over. That’s why he didn’t complain. Because when they finally stuck a microphone in his face and Jim Gray interviewed him, he said it was an injustice. He couldn’t believe it. And nobody watching could.

“They didn’t just take from a guy. They took from a guy that the world has been taking from basically his entire life.”

Saturday’s match was the highest-profile fight of Barroso’s career, and Thomas argued that a surprise win could’ve catapulted his twilight years of boxing into prosperity. Now, he may never get that chance.

“This is an institution that is supposed to be protecting guys just like this,” Thomas said of the commission, “and they fucking stole from him. And then to not even have the goddamn professional courtesy or courage — to your point, [Brian Campbell] — to say something about it… By the way, I’ve been to press conferences in Las Vegas after fights where the commission is all too happy to talk about some new bullshit initiative they’ve done, or some kind of self-congratulation that they want the media to know about.”

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