Rolando Romero is serious about fighting Devin Haney
Over the past number of days, there has been an intensifying feud between WBC world lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (25-0, 15 KO’s) and Rolando “Rolly” Romero (12-0, 10 KO’s). Romero is an up-and-coming fighter who is very friendly with WBO, WBA and IBF world lightweight champion Teofimo “Take Over” Lopez (16-0, 12 KO’s). Haney has maintained a years’ long unofficial rivalry with Lopez.
As two of the most talented fighters in the division, it is easy to see why the public would want a Lopez v Haney clash. Regrettably however, getting the two pugilists in the ring has proven to be a challenging task. For what it is worth, the Dream has always come across like he wanted the fight more. While the Take Over acknowledges that Haney is a gifted boxer, he has constantly downplayed the importance of a potential showdown.
Pressure to make that bout greatly increased after Lopez defeated Vasiliy “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KO’s) and took his WBA and WBO belts. In fact, the only belt left to be claimed in the division is Haney’s WBC strap. Sadly, ESPN and the WBC were complicit in selling the false narrative that Lopez is the ‘undisputed’ lightweight champion. This, of course, is impossible due to the Dream being the legitimate WBC lightweight champion. Yet, because the WBC awarded the Take Over their farcical ‘Franchise Champion’ belt, this nonsensical situation has gone unchecked.
ENEMY OF MY FRIEND IS MY ENEMY!
Being as chummy as they are, Lopez and Romero have frequently gone live together on their various social media accounts. When doing so, there is no telling how many topics they will discuss. However, during these sessions, Haney is often brought up. Most typically, the two friends relished in dragging the WBC champion’s name through the mud. Up until now though, the rivalry was truly between Haney and Lopez. This is no longer the case.
The shift came when the Dream put up footage of himself sparring Romero. Even when Haney put up the video, he was still taking shots at Lopez. The caption below read, ‘tell your side piece to shut up before I catch him before I catch you!’ Obviously, Rolly did not care for the clip and there has begun a new war of words and social media posts. In one of his initial responses, Romero edited the same video footage to only show his shots that landed. In that same revised clip, Rolly has a regular picture of Haney next to one that portrays him as a woman.
IF IT’S SWEET, FIGHT ME!
After that, Romero posted a picture of Hector “Gunder Guadana” Garcia (15-7-4, 9 KO’s). Along with putting up the post, Rolly claims that Haney should have lost to Garcia. According to Romero, the only reason that this was not the case is because the Dream’s father and chief second, Bill Haney, paid off the proper people. In his last act of aggression, Romero has forcefully called out Haney to a fight.
“Bitch ass Haney’s number one, fake-ass, Mexico-ass, email-ass champion, daddy bought his fucking career! Daddy bought him a fucking win in Mexico that they raised the other motherfuckers hand. So y’all can all go fuck yourself. Devin Haney is the biggest bitch, not just at 135, in boxing! So don’t give me that shit! Devin Haney is the biggest bitch in boxing! If I am so easy, fight me and fucking whoop my fucking ass! But no, because he knows he is a chinny, frail-ass little bitch, straight-up!”
At this point it will be interesting to see where this social media squabbling goes from here. For what it’s worth, Lopez sounds like he will not be willing to fight Haney for years. So, if true, the Dream will not be getting that bout anytime soon. But should he face Romero on the strength of name calling alone?
While he definitely has a resume leaving something to be desired, Romero is the WBA’s #2 ranked lightweight. By the same token though, one of the biggest knocks against Haney is his level of professional of competition. Many are happy to point out his resume is thinner than a crackhead in a sauna. Neither man has their next prizefight lined up, so why not? Whether they fight next, or ever at all, is yet to be seen. However, one thing that is plainly evident, this feud will be here for some time to come!
By: Bakari Simpson
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