By Jim Calfa: Stephen Espinoza of Showtime says Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero will be like a “blunt instrument” and will be focusing only on seeing to “bludgeon” Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
According to Showtime boss Espinoza, we won’t see Rolly (14-0 12 KOs) trying to win a competition in skills with WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Tank Davis (26-0, 24 KOs).
He’s going to be putting his entire being into trying to use his superior size and power to pound Tank into the canvas.
Espinoza expects Rolly to be the much heavier fight inside the ring on Saturday night once he rehydrates, and he’s going to have the power advantage on his side.
The punishment that Tank endured in his last fight in December against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz likely won’t be any preparation for what he’s going to experience against Rolly because he’s on another level.
“Boxing rarely goes how people think it’s going to be, and that’s one of the reasons why we love the sport so much. There’s always the element of unpredictability, especially with a fighter like Rolly, who is relatively young in his career” said Stephen Espinoza to Fight Hub TV.
It’ll be interesting to see if Tank can work his way into the inside against Rolly the way he did against Pitbull Cruz, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Leo Santa Cruz without taking too much withering fire.
Tank is an excellent fighter, but he’ll be putting himself at risk in this fight if he attacks Rolly the way he’s done his past opponents.
“He is unorthodox. Tank took issue with him being called awkward,” said Espinoza. “I think he is awkward, and I think he’s unorthodox. I think his timing is different, but he’s big, he’s long, he’s going to be much heavier than Tank on fight night, and he’s got power.
“To me, the fight comes down this: We don’t know how strong Rolly’s chin is until he gets hit. He hasn’t been in with a puncher the caliber of Tank. You could probably say the same for Tank, but for Isaac Cruz.
“He took some heavy shots from Cruz, so there’s probably less of it. They’re both going to take big shots. Who weather’s it better? If this is a boxing skills competition or if we’re talking about who has better form, then you’re not going to put your money on Rolly.
“Rolly’s goal is not to win a contest of skills. He is a blunt instrument. He is trying to bludgeon you, and you never know how someone is going to react until you get hit on the chin. That’s what has everyone so interested in for Saturday night,” said Espinoza.
