By Craig Daly: Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero is confident that he’ll be defending his WBA light welterweight title against Ryan Garcia in his next fight.
Rolly (15-1, 13 KOs) says the negotiations haven’t started with Ryan (23-1, 19 KOs) yet, but he believes the fight will play out.
Ryan had been talking about wanting to fight Rolly following his ninth-round knockout win over Ismael Barroso on May 13th, but recently, he’s gone quiet, which can’t be a good thing.
When Ryan has targeted a fighter, he talks nonstop about them, but he’s not doing that with Rolly, which could mean he’s chosen not to go in that direction.
Ryan hasn’t fought a true 140-pounder yet, and it would be a good idea for him to get some experience in the division before he fights for a world title.
Even against a perceived weak champion like Rolly, it would be wise for Ryan to get acclimatized to the weight class before battling him.
Rolly, 27, is pinning all his hopes on a fight with the 24-year-old Ryan Garcia, and he could wind up disappointed. If that fight doesn’t happen, Rolly will need to defend against his WBA mandatory Ohara Davies, as that fight is due.
If Rolly wants to keep his belt, he’ll need to take care of his mandatory requirements because the World Boxing Association isn’t going to allow him to fight whoever he pleases.
Will Rolly vs. Ryan Garcia happen?
“I’m going to tell you like this. That fight right there is going to be a massive fight,” said Rolly Romero to ESNEWS about a clash between him and Ryan Garcia, which he’s hoping will take place next.
“I just know the promotion leading up to it. Y’all already know that I’m going to go 100% on it, and I’m sure Ryan will go 100% as well. Look, it’s a big fight; that’s all I can say. It’s a massive fight, and I feel that’s what the boxing world needs right now.”
Would Ryan vs. Rolly be a “massive” fight? It probably would, but mostly because of Ryan Garcia because he’s got 11 million Instagram followers, who get alerts for every post he makes.
If Ryan fights Rolly, he can count on his huge social media following to purchase the contest on PPV, and it’ll be a successful event, making both guys tons of money.
“It’s a great [fight]. When was the last time there was a massive pay-per-view at 140?” said Rolly. “It’s going to be a great jump start at 140 to make that s**t fun, and I already told everybody that I want to make that the most popping division in boxing, and I think that’s the start.
“I’m going to make it happen. I always find a way,” said Rolly when asked if negotiations between him and Ryan Garcia have started. “He can train with whoever he wants, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to get his a** beat by me,” said Rolly, reacting to being told that Derrick James is now training Ryan.
With PBC & Mayweather Promotions backing him, Rolly has a good chance of making the Ryan Garcia fight happen. They’ll be the ones that make the match-up happen, and it probably will do well.
Ryan probably isn’t ready to face the other champions, Regis Prograis, Teofimo Lopez, or Subriel Matias. He’s coming off a seventh round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis, and those guys can punch almost as hard or perhaps harder in the case of Matias.
If Ryan quit when he got hit to the body by Tank, he could do the same thing if those guys hit him in the breadbasket with a hard punch.
Ryan picked the wrong trainer
“Besides that, I think he should be training with Canelo. I feel like he was doing better when he was with Canelo,” said Rolly about Ryan needing to be with trainer Eddy Reynoso, the guy that coaches Canelo Alvarez. “You got to look at it like this. Who the hell does Derrick James train? He trains southpaws.”
Ryan stopped training with Reynoso, and some believe it was in reaction to the criticism he received from Canelo for not showing up more to train.
After moving on from Reynoso, Ryan trained briefly with Joe Goosen, but that didn’t last long before parting ways after his loss to Tank. It’s possible that Kingry will soon fire Derrick James if he loses his next fight or looks poor.
“You got to look at it like this. Genetics,” said Rolly. “He’s training African American southpaws. That’s not Ryan’s body type. He should have been with Canelo. Obviously, I want the best for the kid, but if he’s fighting me.
“When it’s time, I’m going to go to 147, and that’s going to be the real fun there.
“I’m going to tell you like this. Regis [Prograis] doesn’t want to fight me. He clearly said he doesn’t want to fight me. He doesn’t sell anyway, so it don’t matter. He’s not marketable at all.
“He [Prograis] can go chill on that little island with DAZN and that s***y company.
“Pitbull [Cruz], that’s a massive fight. That’s an entertaining fight,” said Rolly when asked if he’d like to face lightweight contender Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz. “That’s a very entertaining fight, but like I said, I’m more after the top, top guys right now,” said Rolly.
