In Defense Of Rolly Romero

By Boxing News - 02/10/2023 - Comments

By Alex Fesl: Sometimes, I feel like boxing fans forget that boxing is supposed to be entertaining and compelling. You will often hear fight fans complain that certain boxers are boring and their fights put them to sleep. Often, all time greats like Floyd Mayweather Jr, Andre Ward, and Wladimir Klitschko are ridiculed by fight fans for their defensive styles. Current boxers like Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson are also criticized for their “safety first” approach to the sweet science.

In contrast to the previously mentioned defensive-minded boxers, Rolando “Rolly” Romero 14-1 (12 KOs), is the complete opposite. His style is crude and raw. He comes forward with reckless aggression throwing wild haymakers. He also talks about himself as if he is the greatest boxer of all time, yet he only has 14 victories to count. With Romero, there is never a dull moment, yet fight fans have conflicting views about him. Some hate him and want to see him knocked out, and some appreciate the entertainment value he brings. I believe we need more characters like Rolly Romero to contrast the abundance of highly skilled boxers and additionally bring some much-needed fun to boxing.

A fighter that Romero reminds me of is the entertaining Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga. Mayorga, like Romero, lacked technical abilities but made up for his deficiencies with relentless aggression and an unorthodox style. Mayorga was also known for his comical antics at press conferences that often led to scuffles with his opponents. Mayorga holds notable fights against Vernon Forrest, Cory Spinks, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley, and Miguel Cotto. While it is still early in Romero’s career to compare him to the popular Mayorga, Romero definitely brings the same energy and excitement that Mayorga did in and outside of the ring.

Nevertheless, this week has been an interesting week for Romero, to say the least. Earlier in the week, in a viral video spread on social media, Romero was dropped by prospect J’Hon Ingram in a recent sparring session. Fans were quick to jump on the bandwagon to clown Rolly for getting dropped by the same punch Gervonta “Tank” Davis landed on Romero in their title match last summer.

While it may be amusing to see loudmouthed Romero getting dropped by an unknown prospect, it should be stated that it was merely a sparring session. Fighters get dropped in sparring. It happens to the best. At the same time, it is common boxing etiquette to not expose that kind of thing to the public for various reasons. “What happens in sparring, stays in sparring,” you’ll hear from old school trainers.

Based on that clip, we can’t really say much other than Rolly got caught with a good counter by Ingram. We don’t know what happened leading up to that punch or afterwards. At the end of the day, champions are not crowned in sparring. Fighters earn their championships in the ring on fight night.

Later in the week, we also got news that Romero will be taking on Alberto Puello 21-0 (10 KOs) for the WBA 140 lb title. This is the best possible fight for both fighters. Puello will be taking on a well known fighter so he can be exposed to more fans. Likewise, Romero will be looking to redeem himself from his knockout loss against Tank Davis last year. At the same time, this will be an interesting clash of styles. Romero comes forward aggressively looking for a knockout with every punch, and Puello is a highly skilled counter puncher that does most of his damage on the outside. Classic boxer vs. slugger match up.

With that said, I look forward to Rolly Romero’s fight vs. Puello and his fights afterwards. He brings energy to the sometimes not so exciting world of boxing. He may be loudmouthed and lack skills, but he makes up for it with his entertainment value and willingness to go for knockouts.

Let me know in the comments what you think of Rolly Romero. Do you love him, hate him, or not care about him either way? Do you think Romero is the next Mayorga? Do you think Rolly makes any noise in the stacked 140 lb division?