Isaac Cruz destroys Rolly Romero to capture WBA junior welterweight title

Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz finished Rolly Romero via TKO in a one-sided performance to become the WBA junior welterweight champion Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The stoppage came at the 0:56 mark of the eighth round. Romero was defending his belt for the first time.

The fight served as the co-main event of Premier Boxing Champions' inaugural Prime Video pay-per-view event. A WBO and WBC junior middleweight title bout between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora took top billing.

Cruz dominated and outgunned Romero from start to finish. The 25-year-old Mexican badly rocked Romero in the first and seventh rounds before putting him away with a barrage of punches in the eighth.

With the victory, Cruz captured the first world title of his budding career. The new 140-pound champion is riding a four-fight winning streak and lifted his professional record to 26-2-1 with 18 knockouts. Cruz is unbeaten since losing to star boxer Gervonta "Tank" Davis in a WBA "regular" lightweight title bout in 2021.

Romero was coming off a TKO victory over Ismael Barroso last May. The 28-year-old American is now 1-2 in his last three outings. Romero suffered a knockout loss to Davis in a May 2022 title fight.