David Romero outpoints Carlos Lewis to bounce back from first career loss

Junior welterweight David Romero is back on a winning track again.

Romero bounced back from his first career loss with an eight-round unanimous decision win over Carlos Lewis on Friday at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

Scores were 78-74, 79-73 and 80-72.

Romero, a 24-year-old from Los Angeles, engaged in wild exchanges with Lewis in the opening two rounds as the local crowd cheered him on. Romero was effective in going to Lewis’ body in the fourth round, but he slowed down in the fifth and the pace began to stall.

Lewis, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was dazed in the sixth round, blood flowing from his nose, and was forced to hold on to his opponent. Lewis showed heart, though, withstanding the blows of Romero, who began to fatigue over the second half of the fight.

Romero improved to 8-1-2 (2 KOs), rebounding from a knockout loss to Pedro Valencia in September.

Lewis, 24, lost his first pro fight, falling to 5-1 (3 KOs).

In the co-feature, unbeaten featherweight Matthew Jacinto, of El Cajon, California, escaped with a majority decision win over Esteban Sital, of Bakersfield, California.

Scores were 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76,

The story of the fight was pressure, as Sital didn’t take a backward step. Sital set the tone in the first round, but Jacinto, 22, responded by keeping Sital at the end of his jab for the following rounds.

In the fourth, Sital, 21, began to land clean power shots. He forced a frantic pace in the fifth, as Jacinto expended a lot of energy and was cut over his left eye by a punch. The final three rounds were close, but Jacinto was unable to keep Sital off him.

Jacinto improved to 5-0 (1 KO), winning his first eight-round fight.

Sital’s record dipped to 6-2 (4 KOs).

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.