Rolly Romero has shared the ring with some massive punchers – but none of them hit as hard as Ismael Barroso.Romero squared off against Barroso in his first fight back since falling to defeat at the hands of Gervonta Davis.Romero was able to beat Barroso, but he insists no one hit him harderEsther Lin/SHOWTIMERolly had been knocked out in the sixth round by ‘Tank’ for the WBA ‘regular’ lightweight title in May 2022.But 12 months later, he was handed the opportunity to box for the WBA super lightweight crown.Romero was initially matched up with Alberto Puello, who held the black and gold strap at the time.However, the Dominican was stripped of his belt after failing a pre-fight drugs test.As a result, Barroso stepped in with two weeks’ notice to compete for the vacant title.Romero went on to stop the 40-year-old Venezuelan in the ninth round, but only after tasting his power.Barroso sent Romero tumbling to the canvas in the third stanza courtesy of a looping left.And the American insists it was the hardest he had ever been hit.During an appearance on the Danza Project podcast, Romero said: “Tank doesn’t punch that hard. He just lands a clean shot, and a lot of us are either too small or completely dehydrated.“With Barroso, though, that motherf****** hits hard.Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIMERomero suffered his first stoppage loss to Davis in 2022[/caption]Romero is flying high after a career-best win over Garcia in MayGetty“After the fight, this whole side of my body was f****** sore, and I didn’t want to exchange with that motherf*****. He punched too hard.“That old man’s strength is real. [The hardest I’ve been punched] in my whole life by far.”Barroso has finished 23 of his 25 professional wins (25-5-2) inside the distance and is known as a one-punch knockout artist.His power was on full display last January when he flattened Ohara Davies inside the opening stanza in an age-defying performance for the interim WBA super lightweight title.Romero, meanwhile, has come on leaps and bounds since his comeback win over Barroso.He dropped the WBA super lightweight title to Isaac Cruz in March 2024, but rebounded to score a career-best win over Ryan Garcia in May.In victory, he scooped the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title and is now the frontrunner to box Manny Pacquiao as the Filipino icon continues down the comeback trail.