Promoter Oscar De La Hoya posted a video on social media, gleefully roasting Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero after his crushing, potentially career-destroying defeat against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Golden Boy CEO De la Hoya’s message to the dethroned WBA light welterweight champion Rolly (15-2, 13 KOs) is that he needs to focus on his opponents, not on flapping his gums about him.
A Lesson in “Shut Up and Fight”
Oscar took issue with some of the things Rolly had said about him in the build-up to his fight against Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), and he wanted to make sure he lashed him back in his moment of agony after his wipeout defeat.
The defeat was Rolly’s second in his last three fights and arguably his third consecutive if you count his controversial victory over Ismael Barroso as a loss as well. It’s fair to say that Rolly could be finished as a money-maker for his promoters at Mayweather Promotions, and it won’t be surprising if they cut him loose.
From Top Billing to the Bargain Bin
Even if they keep Rolly on the payroll, his future fights will likely be buried on undercards, and nowhere near the headliner or co-feature spots, he’d previously enjoyed.
If Floyd Mayweather Jr. keeps Rolly around for old-time’s sake, he will have to subsidize his career because his chances of success against anyone at 140 are slim. It would be wiser for Floyd to show Rolly some tough love and give him the boot, wishing him well for wherever he does next.
Who knows? Perhaps British promoter Eddie Hearn would like to salvage Rolly for his Matchroom Boxing company and use him as an opponent for one of his younger fighters. One thing is clear: Floyd can’t continue to keep Rolly around because he’s gotten him as far as he can with his help.
“Rolly, you dumb a**, getting knocked out. Focus on your opponent instead of focusing on me,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya on social media, enjoying the exquisite pleasure of kicking Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero while he was down in the aftermath of his humiliating eighth-round TKO loss to challenger Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
“All other fighters, learn from Rolly. Don’t talk s*** about promoters. There’s only three of us in the world,” said De La Hoya.
