Rolly Romero probably isn’t the best fighter on the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora pay-per-view card Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But he’s the most amusing.
The 140-pound titleholder has been walking around with a figure on a chain that depicts his opponent, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, as a chihuahua. Clever way to promote the first show on Amazon Prime and get under his foe’s skin, although Cruz doesn’t seem all that bothered.
And Romero is incapable of keeping his mouth shut, which annoys some people but gets him a lot of attention. That was on full display Thursday at the final news conference before the card on Saturday.
Cruz gave his opening remarks immediately before Romero did, saying, “To this loudmouth over here, I’m here to shut his mouth and take the belt. So get ready.”
Then Romero made it clear where Cruz was coming from, insulting his challenger in his first comments.
“Everyone thinks this is going to be a difficult fight but I think it’s a very easy fight. He’s going to run into something because he’s stupid,” said Romero, who seemed to take great satisfaction from his own pointed remarks.
That jab undoubtedly made a lot of people chuckle because of its boldness, although Cruz wasn’t one of them. The typically soft-spoken Mexican didn’t hesitate to fire back with a warning.
“If he thinks I’m stupid, he’s even stupider,” Cruz said through a translator. “What does he think? That I have bandages around my eyes and I have my hands tied? If he thinks I’m just going to lay down, he’s very, very mistaken. And he’s going to realize it on Saturday night.”
Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) also had some serious, more analytical moments at the news conference.
Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) acknowledged that he doesn’t plan to deviate from his seek-and-destroy style of fighting, which has overwhelmed most of his opponents and even troubled pound-for-pounder Gervonta Davis is a close loss.
Romero responded by saying, in so many words, that Cruz is predictable.
“He’ll come over there and throw and throw and throw and throw. He does the same s— over and over again,” said Romero, the implication being that it’s not difficult to beat an opponent when you know his every move.
Of course, we’ll see whether there is any substance behind Romero’s comments or whether he’ll say anything to sell the fight and himself, as well as try to get under his opponent’s skin.
The jury is still out on how good Romero is in the ring. He has already proved that he’s effective out of it.
