Rolly Romero Ditching Trash Talk Due to Respect for Pitbull Cruz
Typically, during the lead-up to a fight, WBA junior welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly’ Romero (15-1, 13 KO’s) is a very verbally aggressive fighter. To go a step further, many will openly tell you that Rolly essentially talked his way in his position he holds now. Even Rolly will tell you his zany, carefree trash talk is what got him where he is today. Yet, when it comes to his next opponent, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KO’s), Romero has been short on words and serious on intent.
During the latest media roundtables, the Las Vegas native elaborated on why he has been so mild mannered and civil during this build-up.
“Of course, I am going to respect this dude. He took this fight and I know he is not scared of me. I know for a fact he is not scared of me. Because he is not scared anyways, he is going to come fight. And he knows for a fact I ain’t scared of him because if that was the case, I wouldn’t have fought him. Because in reality, who had the finally say in this fight? Me!”
“So, like I said, it’s mutual respect. He is a tough opponent. So I know everybody is waiting for me to shit talk and all this stuff, this isn’t really a shit-talking fight. This fight doesn’t need to be spoken outside the ring; this fight needs to be spoken inside the ring! This is a fight that is spoken in the ring . . . this fight speaks for itself, the second we get in the ring, this fight will speak for itself.”
ACTION UNDER PRESSURE
As they say, styles make fights. So, we’ll have to see how these two line up with each other under the hot lights of the T-Mobile Arena. For his part, Romero could enter the fight with a bit of mental baggage. This is due to him only being one match removed from his May 28, 2022 TKO loss at the hands of Abdul “Tank” Wahid.
In that victory over Ismael Barroso, on May 13, 2023, Romero was awarded what is near universally deemed a gift knockout win. Also, Romero has split from his long-time chief second, Cromwell “Bullet” Gordon. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how he fares in battle for the first time under new tutelage. All in all, Rolly has a lot of pressure for this fight while undergoing a good measure of transition. So, it will be interesting to see how he performs in what is almost guaranteed to be a heavy-hitting action brawl.
