LAS VEGAS — By then, the media glut had seeped away. The jutting mics and video people were gone. There was no one hovering over them asking them what their favorite ice cream was, or to take a selfie with them.

It was just Rolando “Rolly” Romero on one side of the scarcely populated MGM Grand conference ballroom and Isaac “Pit Bull” Cruz and his family on the other side.

Just like it will be Saturday night when the pair co-feature the Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora main event in the Premier Boxing Champions debut event on Amazon’s Prime Video from the T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

At one end will be Romero (15-1, 13 knockouts) making the first defense of the WBA super lightweight world title, and at the other will be Mexican superstar Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) in his 140-pound debut.

Romero has been carrying on a Chihuahua theme in reference to Cruz, going so far as to create a Chihuahua chain that is supposed to resemble Cruz.

Romero played the role on Thursday in the final press conference for most of the media, pandering to the cameras and the inquisitors. But when the day wound day, he got real for a moment.

Asked when his fight face will appear, Romero said, “When I step into that ring, the killer will come out. Right now, this was all fun. It meant nothing. Just fun. There is no point to turn on that killer right now. But believe me, he is there. It is in me. People may see ‘Rolly’ the joker, doing and saying silly things.

“I know when it is time to fight, I will be ready. This guy is a serious challenge. When the time comes to get serious, I will get serious. I have been killing myself to make 135. Right now, you see me, you see the shape that I’m in? I feel great. I’m having a good time.

“Seriously, for a moment, the switch turns on. It doesn’t matter when it is, it just turns on. I don’t have control of it. It’s not an inner demon. It is a friend, someone who walks with me and protects me. I am someone different when I get into that ring, and I will be Saturday night. The media doesn’t need to see that now.”

Romero said facing and beating Ismael Barroso for the vacant WBA junior welterweight title last May was the biggest challenge of his life. He admitted Barroso punched very hard, and when given a moment, Rolly went back to having fun again.

When asked what was said between them during their post-press conference stare down, Romero said Cruz, “told me ‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I know that you are going to knock me out, and let’s go get tacos afterwards.’”

Then he laughed.

“That’s literally what happened, or that’s at least what I heard him say,” said Rolly, laughing again. “That is what he said to me, as I recall. I told him I love tacos.”

But for a moment, the fight face turned on again as Romero departed. His voice inflection raised and his point came emphatically, “I am taking this very seriously. Everyone will see. I have something to prove and I am going to f—king prove it!”

At the other end was a rather tranquil Cruz. Away from the ring, he is a very committed family man. He was with his wife and children, chasing around his son, pulling him in and hugging him, kissing him on the forehead.

“This is what drives me,” he said, looking back at his family. “I told (Rolly) when we up there that he was the real Chihuahua, because his bark is far worse than his bite. In the end, we are pros. We are focused and we will do what we have to do. That is the bottom line.

“This is totally the most prepared I have ever been for a fight. He does not get me angry. I know what I have to do. No doubts. I’m as sharp as a razor and we are very well prepared. You will see. I’m like SpongeBob SquarePants, when he blows up like a balloon and explodes.”

Then Cruz let out a bellowing laugh.

Romero, 28, is need of a defining fight, a signature fight. It was supposed to come against Gervonta “Tank” Davis in May 2022, when he suffered a sixth-round knockout. Romero had been doing well in that fight, before Davis pounded him with a left to the chin that ended it at 2:39 of the sixth.

Rolly claims the 25-year-old Cruz is ideal for him, a short, come-forward opponent there to be hit.

Both lost to Tank. The problem for Romero is that Cruz gave Tank a more difficult fight and is only one of two fighters to ever go the distance with Davis.

“Rolly is a naturally bigger guy and he is right where he needs to be at 140,” said Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, who promotes Romero. “Rolly is a good guy, and that is why you always want people like him to succeed. I personally think Rolly will knock Pit Bull out. That’s a big statement. Pit Bull is a good fighter. But Cruz is predictable. The only reason why Tank Davis did not knock his little ass out was because Tank had a messed-up hand.”

Romero relies on power. Cruz relies on pressure by necessity. He will be difficult for Romero to find because of his low profile. Cruz is hard to counter, because he keeps his chin tucked and rarely raises up during exchanges. Rolly has boxing ability. And he has something to prove.

The fuse is lit.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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