Coach Bullet Says he has Permanently Split with Rolly Romero
After nearly a year of inactivity, WBA junior welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (15-1, 13 KO’s) will return to action. On March 30, he will face the challenger of Isaac Cruz under the hot lights of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Yet, when Romero slides through the ropes he will do so without his long time trainer Gordon “Bullet” Cromwell.
As Coach Bullet revealed to Fight Hype, after hearing a request that he didn’t care for, it was the chief second who opted to abort the partnership.
“At the end of 2023, I made the decision to stop dealing with certain fighters because of them not listening or them feeling like other people have more information for them that they need even though, per se Rolly. I built him from 0 and 0 to world champion. He got people in his ear, and that is basically what it is. I’m not finna sugarcoat it; he is a champion, now they want to be in the corner next to you, I get it. But loyalty is everything, disloyalty is nothing.”
“For me? No, there is no more talking about reconciliation of anything. Once I make my mind up about something, that’s just what it is . . . like I said, good luck on their career, but there is no money, there’s no conversation that can get me back to anybody who has ever shown me disloyalty.”
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
If a coach discovered their long time charge shopping for a new trainer, obviously this could cause tension. At the same time, sometimes fighters want to branch out to add more wrinkles to their game. So should the fighter be villainized for wanting another look? Is the coach justified in being bitter?
In terms of Romero, he has long since been labeled near universally as the weakest link of the top names in the division. This is due to his legitimately raw boxing ability. With such a massive room for improvement, it is not unreasonable to believe that he was interested in diversifying his skillset. Now that his split with Coach Bullet is official news, it will be interesting to see who his new chief second will be.
This also puts a new spin on his upcoming duel with Cruz. Even if he forms an instant productive bond with his new trainer, it typically takes several matches before the new pair really hit their equilibrium with one another. So the question is: will Romero get caught in transition and made to pay on March 30? Stay tuned to 3Kings Boxing to find out!
“For me, it’s the audacity. For me, it’s the complete disrespect to even think that there is another trainer better than me and it’s not an ego thing because the proof is in the pudding! One of the most difficult fighting styles in boxing was Rolly and I still made him a champion.”
