Rolando “Rolly” Romero is pushing for lightweight themed ‘Super Six’ tournament!
If there is one thing that Rolando “Rolly” Romero (13-0, 11 KO’s) is not shy about, its speaking his mind. When professing his belief that he is best, airing his gripes about the sport or verbally sparring another fighter he holds little back. In a recent session going live over social media, Romero voiced his opinion on how to clean up the lightweight division. While his idea was anything but unique it would likely be warmly welcomed by the boxing community at large.
“What needs to be done in boxing at 135 because all these pussies don’t want to fight each other for all four belts, we’ll do this shit! We do a Super Six tournament, that’s what we do! Me, Teo [Teofimo Lopez], Ryan [Garcia], Tank [Gervonta Davis], Devin [Haney], whoever the fuck else you want to throw into the fucking tournament. Or even we do a fucking eight man tournament.
“Do a fucking boom, boom, boom eliminate everybody and the best one be at the fucking top and we get all four fucking belts.
“That’s what we fucking do! That would be the best thing for boxing right now! Because I am tired of all these hype jobs at 135. I’m tired of the entire hyped up ass fucking division.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t even want to be part of this fucking hype ass shit because no one fucking fights each other and it’s bullshit! And that’s the truth!”
EASY TO TALK, HARDER TO WALK
Truthfully speaking Rolando has some great points. In mixing and matching the talent at lightweight there are a staggering amount of fights that can be made. Unfortunately, many of those bouts are going unmade. Take WBC world lightweight champion Devin Haney for example. Haney is a great talent, a belt carrying champion and notable following as well as presence in the sport. Despite these facts, he has had a terribly difficult time penning a bout with one of the other in-prime marquee names.
Sure at certain times fighters like unified champ Teofimo Lopez say they want to duel Haney in one breath, then say “why Haney,” in the next breath. Lopez and WBC interim champ Ryan Garcia have flip-flopped radically on the subject of Haney. This is only a minor highlight of a grander pervading issue in the sport, but true nonetheless. Therefore, staging a Super Six styled tournament would be good. Although it would likely be a difficult venture.
TOURNAMENT EVOLUTION
The original Super Six tournament took place in the super middleweight division from 2009 to 2011. The initial line-up consisted of Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Andre Ward, Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell. While the tournament did provide great action, it was also hampered by injuries and unforeseen delays. This is why even if a similar tournament was created for today’s lightweight division there would likely be several on-going obstacles to overcome.
Since the Super Six the boxing world was graced with another comprehensive tournament theme. This time Sauerland Promotions and Richard Schaefer teamed under the Comosa AG banner to create the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS). The WBSS was an eight man tournament which staged their first competition in 2017. At this point the WBSS has hosted three separate events which incorporated the bantamweight, super lightweight and cruiserweight divisions. Like the Super Six, these competitions have had their technical issues, yet it still serves as a shining example of what could be.
Staging these type of tournaments would please the fans and force many of the best fights that each division has to offer. Sadly due to the unforeseen hurdles which always prevent themselves, it’s not all that likely that these tourneys will flourish throughout the sport.
Yet, if Rolly’s idea manifests into reality then the boxing world at large would be the beneficiary. While it’s definitely a long shot, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to cross some fingers and wish on the next twinkling star.
By: Bakari Simpson
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