In the current world we reside in, it’s safe to say we’re living in the social media era. Lightweight contender Rolando “Rolly” Romero used the social media platform to promote his brand. Romero’s brand is a mixture of arrogance, trash talking, and unfiltered comedy. The combination of his social media presence and his electrifying knockouts in the ring, have provided him the opportunity to take part in one of the most anticipated boxing matches of 2022.
On May 28 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Gervonta “Tank” Davis (26-0, 24 KOs) will defend his WBA lightweight title against Romero (14-0, 12 KOs).
A product of Las Vegas, Nevada, Rolly Romero got involved in combat sports because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of a person he looked up to. He gravitated to the sport of judo at the age of nine due to the fact that his sister, Angelica Romero, was a seven-time national champion. A change of sport occurred in 2012 when Rolly was watching Olympic boxing on television with his father, and he decided he wanted to give boxing a try.
After a brief amateur career, Romero had the desire to turn pro. Rolly walked into the Mayweather Boxing Club and he was ready and willing to challenge any boxer in the building. During a sparring session, Romero captured the attention of Floyd “Money” Mayweather. The legendary boxer turn promoter was so impressed, that he decided to offer Rolly Romero a promotional contract.
After signing with Mayweather Promotions in 2016, Rolly compiled an impressive record of (11-0, 10 KOs). Romero encountered a stumbling block in August of 2020 when he stepped into the ring to battle Jackson Marinez. At the end of twelve rounds, Romero was awarded a controversial unanimous decision. He made up for the lackluster performance five months later with a TKO victory against Avery Sparrow. In July of 2021, Romero’s punching power was on full display as he scored three knockdowns which led to a devastating seventh-round knockout against Anthony Yigit.
Now Rolando Romero is on the brink of stepping into the ring to finally have his grudge match with Gervonta Davis. It’s labeled a grudge match because of the bad blood between the two. Rolly claims the animosity developed in 2017 after he posted a video and Tank suggested they spar each other. The day of the scheduled sparring session, Davis didn’t show up. They rescheduled the sparring session and once again Davis didn’t show up. In addition to the sparring incident, Rolly also claims the bad blood stems from a situation that took place in 2019. According to Romero, on the night of the fight between Errol Spence and Mikey Garcia, he was attempting to navigate his way towards Floyd Mayweather and Leonard Ellerbe. As he was approaching Mayweather near ringside, Davis shoved him for no apparent reason.
Both Davis and Romero have had a war of words in person and via social media. Now the time is approaching for the two boxers to settle their differences in the ring. Gervonta Davis is the overwhelming favorite due to the fact that he is an accurate puncher, technically sound, has explosive power, and a high boxing IQ. Romero is a live underdog because of his brief amateur background, lack of experience, and awkward boxing technique. A large number of boxing fans believe Davis will win the fight because he is too skilled for Romero. Boxing insiders such as Tim Bradley, Roy Jones, and Antonio Tarver all favor Davis. They also share the same logic in regards to Romero’s only chance to winning the fight, is a puncher’s chance.
Boxing insiders have given Rolly tough criticism, but Romero’s boxing peers have dished out cruel and blatantly disrespectful criticism. Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, and other members of the boxing community refer to Rolly’s boxing skills as trash. They all believe Davis will win rather easily. Despite the lack of confidence from his peers, Rolly Romero believes in himself. He’s constantly gone on record stating he’s going to knock Davis out in the first round. His arrogant interviews and internet trolling have played a significant part in selling the fight.
Rolando “Rolly” Romero has routinely preached about himself being victorious on May 28. Realistically speaking, Romero is awkward, aggressive, has good power, but he loads up for every punch, and he makes too many technical mistakes. With that being said, it would be extremely hard for someone to think Romero could beat a boxer the caliber of Davis. However strange things have occurred in this sport. Nineteen years ago the superior undefeated boxer Vernon Forrest got knocked out in the third-round by the awkward Ricardo Mayorga.
Despite the fact that Gervonta Davis is the overwhelming favorite, we must all keep in mind that this is boxing, and anything can happen.
