Rolly Romero Feels Like He is Being Slept On
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that lightweight fighter Rolando “Rolly” Romero (14-0, 12 KO’s) garners a great deal of attention. Some tune in to hear his premium trash talk while others are waiting on the edge of their seats to see Rolly get knocked out. There is a great contingent of people who think that will happen in his next tour of duty. This is because on May 28, Romero will face the challenge of Regular WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (26-0, 24 KO’s).
When it comes to Romero, the overwhelming talking points concern his overall lack of fundamentals and general boxing skill. While very aware of these criticisms, Romero does not let this trouble his peace. Instead, ranked #1 (WBA), Rolly focuses on all the good work that he’s done and keeps his mind to the future. In a segment on The Last Stand podcast with Brian Custer, Romero made his case against his naysayers.
“Just because I don’t fight that stupid [traditional] shit that they have been promoting for years because I didn’t start boxing when I was in pampers, I started boxing at 17. I might actually be the fastest world champion of all time and people don’t even realize that! I did it with what, seven years of boxing experience?
But I suck? I skipped from six rounds to twelve rounds, but I suck? That I literally never declined a fight, but I suck? That I just kept pressing and pressing and fighting whoever the hell they put in front of me, but I suck? […] I want to be the best and that’s the difference with me. And if I got to do it with my ugly ass, awkward style that punches harder than everybody else in boxing then so be it!”
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Currently Romero is riding a two-fight knockout streak with both of those stoppages, over Avery Sparrow and Anthony Yigit, coming in the seventh round. Without question, Davis will be a colossal step-up in terms of level of opposition. This is also something that Rolly does not pay much heed to due to the feeling that Tank is overrated in just about every category.
“I don’t think he is as big a puncher as people think, I think he just bullies a bunch of small dudes and weight drained opponents like Pedraza and Barrios and small dudes like Santa Cruz, a torn Achilles Gamboa, that 122-pounder that he fought. So I don’t think that he is that big of a puncher. I think he’s just explosive and gets these people that just stand there in front of him and they’re smaller than him. So, I mean, its only obvious that he’s going to knock them out.”
Time will tell if Romero turns out to be correct in his prediction of the upcoming prizefight. We’ll have to wait to see if he is, but in the meantime, there is little doubt that the pre-fight hype for this duel will remain lively and entertaining!
Reading Time: 3 minutes
By: Bakari Simpson
