WBA junior welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero 15-1 (13) says he has picked a much tougher opponent for his next fight than Ryan Garcia 24-1 (20).
The 28-year-old Romero from Las Vegas and the 25-year-old Garcia from Los Angeles were linked to a bout following the latter’s eighth-round knockout victory over Oscar Duarte 26-2-1 (21) on the first Saturday of December.
But Romero ultimately went another route, electing to face Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz 25-2-1 (17) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 30 on the undercard of the junior middleweight fight between Tim Tszyu 24-0 (17) and Keith Thurman 30-1 (22).
Garcia has subsequently accepted a bout against WBC junior welterweight champion and former undisputed lightweight champion Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney 31-0 (15) in Las Vegas on April 20.
“I decided to take a much more difficult fight than Ryan Garcia… But people want to fucking bash me for taking a more difficult fight. I mean, I would say Pitbull Cruz is a more difficult fighter than Ryan Garcia. Wouldn’t you agree?” Romero said to Fight Hub TV.
“He is much more durable. He punches, he is aggressive.
“Ryan Garcia is going to run like a turkey. Like I said, I chose a much more exciting fighter and a come-forward fighter. And I’m gonna make it a Mexican slugfest and he is gonna make it a Mexican slugfest.”
Mexico’s Cruz, 25, has proven himself to be a tough and durable contender with a fan-friendly style. His lone loss in the past eight years was against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis 29-0 (27) when he became the only boxer to last the 12-round distance with the hard-hitting southpaw in December 2021, winning five rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards too.
“When I said I was fighting Pitbull, I got calls from everybody at Golden Boy, begging me to fight [Ryan Garcia]. So, let’s see who needed who in reality. I don’t need them,” said Romero.
“Ryan Garcia made the most money with Al Haymon [when he fought Davis last April, losing by seventh-round knockout]. He took a massive, massive pay cut. So, Al Haymon is where all the money is at.
“Why am I going to go fight on [DAZN] when I can grow Amazon Prime, which is already the biggest platform in boxing history? You’re going to tell me I made the wrong decision? No, I’m over here. Al made me a beautiful offer.
“[Garcia] can go fight on on their network doing 20K pay-per-view buys. Al Haymon gave me a better deal. Al Haymon takes care of his fighters.”
Romero’s comments echo what he said in an interview with FightHype last week.
“Isn’t Pitbull Cruz a more difficult fighter. A stronger fighter? A more durable fighter? A more exciting fighter?” he said.
“It just shows that I have balls for going after Pitbull Cruz.”