In Photos: Reflecting on the 5 Biggest Highs, Lows, and Whoas from Jordan White’s Win over José Matías Romero and the White vs. Romero Card — Navarrete, Foster, More!
By Paul R. Jones! Hanover, MD — While many boxing fans were fixated on unified Welterweight World Champ, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’, one-sided beatdown of Eimantas Stanionis on Saturday night, neatly tucked away in the main event of a competing ProBoxTV card was Top 10-ranked Super Featherweight contender, Jordan White (19-1, 12 KOs), who shined in a dominant win over José Matías Romero (29-4, 10 KOs) at the Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, Maryland. White showed superior timing, vision, and elite-level counterpunching in outpointing the game Argentinian over 10 rounds to earn a wide UD win on the NoXcuse-promoted card (official scores: 99-90 [twice] and 100-89).
Here I provide some final thoughts on the Top 5 highs, whoas, and lows from White’s win and the larger White vs. Romero card:
- Highs: White contended with level one adversity but still dominated José Matías Romero.
Jordan White continued his climb up the Super Featherweight rankings by outclassing José Matías Romero over 10 rounds. What stood out, however, was the ease whereby White was able to hurt Romero — a seasoned veteran who went the distance with Isaac Cruz — at multiple times during the fight, including a hard knockdown of the Argentinian in the 3rd round. The knockdown, according to White, was as clear turning point in the fight.
“I knew [Romero] was cooked for sure,” said White. “His legs was gone,” he added.
Although going for the knockout was tempting, White stuck to the game plan and avoided being careless, surmising that Romero might just be able to shake off the cobwebs.
“Sometimes, when you chase a knockout you tend to get hit by punches you don’t see being thirsty,” White said. “[And] sometimes the knockout ain’t always gonna be there. You put him down and waste all your energy trying to get him out of there and he’s gonna recover. He did recover.”
Indeed, Romero recovered in the middle rounds and even managed to catch White with a right hand in the seventh round that forced blood to flow out of White’s nose. Romero’s moment of success was fleeting, however, as White had Romero reeling once again by the end of the round.
Despite contending with a bloody nose during the championship rounds, White continued to pile up the points, using a steady diet of jabs, check hooks, and responsible defense to hand Romero one of the most lopsided losses of his career, save the Argentinian’s fights against Michel Rivera and Robeisy Ramirez.
All in all, White’s win over Romero was clear and convincing. And Team White’s next steps are centered around securing lucrative fights against the reigning world champions at 130 pounds, including O’Shaquie Foster (WBC) and Emanuel Navarrete (WBO). A fight versus rising contender Raymond Ford was also floated as a potential target.
I wouldn’t count White out against any of the current Super Featherweight Champs, as 2025 could be the year that “Shortdog” makes the move from underrated to unmissable in boxing.
2. Highs: William Foster III’s Ring IQ is undeniable, and it was on full display in his win over Brandon Leon Benitez for the WBA Continental North America Gold Title.
Simply put, Super Featherweight contender William Foster III’s (19-2, 11 KOs) virtual shutout of Brandon Leon Benitez (21-4, 9 KOs), of Mexico, was elegant in its simplicity. Foster used top-tier boxing skills and ring generalship, manifested in an intelligent jab and silky-smooth defense, to effectively neutralize the otherwise aggressive Benitez. And Foster did it all while smiling at Benitez throughout the fight. Talk about demoralizing.
From the outset, Benitez tried to push the pace versus Foster to force the Connecticut native to fight off his back foot. The problem, however, was that Foster was happy to oblige Benitez, using Benitez’s aggressive style as a weapon against the Mexican slugger.
And while Benitez targeted Foster’s body with heavy leather to slow him down, Foster used his arms, elbows, and gloves to pick off most of this incoming fire, and, in return, landed stinging counter punches to Benitez’s head and torso.
When not effectively countering Bentiez, Foster used feints, interspersed with a snapping jab, to keep Benitez off balanced and confused. These tactics ultimately left Benitez with no answers besides doubling-down on the pressure, which was obviously the wrong approach against a cerebral fighter like Foster.
By the middle rounds, Foster began to use his jab to poke and rip through Benitez’s guard, opening nasty cuts to Benitez’s face, including a laceration to the Mexican’s left eye. And Foster simply rinsed and repeated this blueprint over the remainder of the fight, en route to a wide points win (scores: 100-90 x2, 98-92).
The key takeaways from Foster’s performance were twofold: First, the ease whereby Foster was able to use Benitez’s strengths against him was noteworthy; and, second, Foster’s ability to control Benitez on the inside and outside, irrespective of how much pressure the Mexican applied, will serve Foster well versus future opponents that merely rely on a tempo-based offense. Taken together, Foster’s skills make the self-proclaimed “Silent Assassin” a tough night for any Super Featherweight.
3. Whoas: Stephan Shaw’s jaw-dropping first-round KTFO of Raphael Akpejiori was a potential 2025 Knockout of the Year candidate!
It took Heavyweight contender, Stephan Shaw (21-2, 16 KOs), a mere 33 seconds to obliterate Raphael Akpejiori (18-2, 17 KOs) with a devastating left-right combination that detonated on Akpejiori’s chin and temple, respectively, with chilling effect. The blows ultimately left Akpejiori knocked out cold underneath the bottom ropes, registering Shaw’s KTFO as a clear Knockout of the Year candidate.
With the win, Shaw is currently riding a three-fight knockout streak, which dates back to March 2024. If the St Louis native can keep up his current activity level and penchant for knockouts, a top 15 ranking and title contention are sure to follow.
4. Whoas: Francois Scarboro Jr. overcame height and reach disadvantages to brutally KTFO Victor Manuel Lopez Gala.
Although several prospects splashed on the White vs. Romero undercard — including developing prospect Benjamin Johnson (4-0, 4 KOs), who stopped Brandon Mendoza (6-4, 6 KOs) in the first round of their Welterweight tilt — perhaps no prospect made larger waves than undefeated Super Featherweight prospect, Francois Scarboro Jr. (10-0, 8 KOs), who starched Victor Manuel Lopez Gala (6-2-1, 3 KOs) in the 5th round of their pulse-pounding matchup.
Many boxing scribes (including yours truly) wondered how Scarboro would fare against an opponent for whom he did not have clear physical advantages over. Enter the 6’2” Lopez Gala to the chat, who dwarfed the 5’8” Scarboro in height and reach and arguably gave Scarboro one of his toughest fights to date.
After a tough first round, Scarboro pounded Lopez Gala to the body, which ultimately led to Lopez Gala being dropped early in the second round. Though Lopez Gala would recover and mount a comeback in the 4th round, Scarboro caught Lopez Gala again with a monster shot in the 5th round that cleaned Lopez Gala’s clock and put him out for good at the 2:59 mark of the round.
With the win, Scarboro proved three things: (1) his power is legit; (2) that he’s able to overcome size disadvantages with intelligent pressure and brute force; and (3) he continues to warrant a spot on my prospect watchlist moving forward.
5. Lows: Eric Hernandez underwhelmed in an upset loss to Johnny Spell.
In the lone upset on the White vs. Romero card (rankings withstanding), Pennsylvania native, Johnny Spell (10-2, 4 KOs), easily outpointed Eric Hernandez (12-2, 5 KOs) in an 8-rounder (scores: 78-74, thrice). While Hernandez tried to apply pressure and bully his way inside, Spell boxed well off his back foot, consistently jabbing, turning, and walking Hernandez into attention-grabbing counters that Hernandez simply had no answer for.
And while some of the middle rounds were admittedly hard to score, Hernandez was unable to make the necessary adjustments versus Spell.
For Spell, future opportunities are likely in the cards, but, at 31-years-old, Hernandez will have to regroup quickly if he plans to improve his standing in the Super Lightweight division.
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About the Author:
Paul R. Jones! is a long-time boxing writer and ringside photographer. His articles, photographs, and commentaries have appeared online, in print, and in scholarly journals. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @boxingepicenter. You can also email him at prjones1@hotmail.com.