Rolando “Rolly” Romero believes he will become the first fighter to stop Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
Cruz and Romero square off in a junior welterweight title fight on March 30, in the co-feature of the Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view card on Amazon Prime headlined by Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora.
From the onset of their fight promotion, Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) has claimed that he will stop Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) and boasted about all the ways he plans to dominate him. Cruz speaks only Spanish, so Romero has done the promotional heavy lifting at their pre-fight press conferences.
“He’s not that unique,” Romero said. “I fight guys like him all the time. This has probably been the easiest time I’ve ever had finding sparring in my life. He can be replicated; I can’t. My style goes hand in hand with my personality – it’s unique.”
Romero is training with respected coach Ismael Salas, having parted ways with Cromwell “Bullet” Gordon. This will be Romero’s first fight since he won a junior welterweight title against Ismael Barroso via stoppage – one that left most observers dissatisfied. Although it was referee Tony Weeks who intervened and appeared to call the fight too early, Romero has felt the brunt of the sour result ever since.
Cruz is a pressure fighter. He stands four inches shorter than Romero, conceding five inches in reach. Nothing about him is typical. He is a high-motor, attacking fighter who seeks to break his foe mentally and physically.
“If you want to come right at me and get cracked, go for it,” Romero said. “He can do all that stuff with the small guys he fights, but I’m a big fighter and I hit harder than anyone at the weight class. I’m always here to go for the knockout and to go for the kill. I’m not here to just touch you – I want to pop you.
“I’m gonna knock him out. He’s gonna come forward and I’m gonna stop him. He gets hit with everything, so it could be any kind of punch.”
Many observers believe that Cruz is the more accomplished fighter, despite his never having won a world title. Gervonta “Tank” Davis has fought both, finishing Romero in a highly competitive fight and being taken the distance by Cruz in a close win. Cruz is on a three-fight win streak, with his last win being a split-decision victory over Giovanni Cabrera. Romero’s victory over Barroso was his first fight since losing to Davis via sixth-round knockout in 2022.
“All I am doing right now is getting ready to shut his mouth, punch by punch,” Cruz said. “With every punch, he is going to talk a little less.”
By Lucas Ketelle