LAS VEGAS – Asking Rolly Romero a question is a lot like fighting him.
You never know what you’re going to get.
The WBA welterweight champion returns to the ring for the first time in more than 15 months Saturday night when the enigmatic Las Vegas product defends his belt against former two-division champion Teofimo Lopez at T-Mobile Arena.
Holding court with the public and reporters at his media workout, the former 135lbs interim champion and ex-WBA 140lbs titlist entertained throughout his narrative of how we got here, expressing astoundment at the accomplishment.
“I’ve had 35 amateur fights, started boxing at 17 and was the most avoided prospect in boxing – that’s why I got fast-tracked. Everyone was ducking me,” Romero told reporters.
Touting that this is his fourth pay-per-view (DAZN/Prime Video), he cracked, “Make it make sense. Can you imagine if I started boxing at 5 years old?”
Without a full explanation, Romero repeated that he was sent into a “crazy depression” due to the ingestion of Estrogen pills last year, describing the psychological effects as “cyanide” like.
“I beat Ryan Garcia and became a world champion while taking Estrogen,” Romero said of his most recent bout, a unanimous-decision triumph over the current WBC welterweight champion at New York’s Times Square in May 2025.
That led to a spiritual awakening and a slew of failed negotiations to fight Garcia, Manny Pacquiao, Conor Benn, WBO champion Devin Haney and even Lopez.
“I’m the one who tried to make all these fights. Nobody wanted to fight me. I don’t even want to say why. Yes I do: Now that I’m at my natural weight … ,” Romero told the crowd. “This is the moment for me to make my legacy.”
He told BoxingScene earlier this month defeating Lopez is a ticket to the Hall of Fame as Lopez returns straight from a January 31 unanimous-decision loss for the WBO 140lbs belt to four-division champion Shakur Stevenson.
“Oh, who’s in the Hall of Fame, Shakur Stevenson? Who has Shakur Stevenson beat that’s in the Hall of Fame not named Teofimo Lopez?” Romero asked. “If I knock out Teofimo Lopez, am I in the Hall of Fame?”
Romero said Lopez was goaded to revisit talks for a fight because the close boxing friends had a new pecking order with Romero standing as the champion and Lopez belt-less.
Previously, Lopez loaned Romero $5,000 to get through some difficult times, adding he gifted Romero a Rolex, too.
When Lopez told the crowd he took the fight because Romero was acting too arrogant with the belt, Romero swung back verbally.
“He said we had a run-in. He’s trying to create fake beef that isn’t there,” Romero said before revealing the essence of the strain. “He has to paint me as the enemy. I’ve done no fake beef, I’ve done nothing. Me and him are friends. He was envious when I became champion. When I became better than him, he started trash-talking me, calling me out. That’s where all this started.
“But I loved him and I’ll always love him.”
At the turn of the decade, Garcia labeled the best fighters around his weight the “Four Horsemen,” leaving out Romero while naming himself, Haney, Lopez and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Now, ironically, Romero is a Saturday victory away from claiming he’s beaten two of them and caused Haney to duck after losing to Davis as a lightweight.
“My two failures came down to weight cuts and Estrogen,” Romero said while also referencing his 2024 140lbs title loss to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. “I lost 17 pounds the day before I fought ‘Tank.’ Because I was already a welterweight.”
He dismissed the impact of a sparring session with Lopez nine years ago.
“Teo got in a good body shot. I did him a favor for his pro debut. None of that matters. We’re both two completely different fighters,” he said.
“Now, I’m 30 years old and want different things for my life. I was a young, immature man who got some fame, got some clout, made some money and did whatever I wanted. I’ve changed. I’ve become a better man.”
Ask a question about sparring, gain a lesson on life.
Following the Q-and-A, Romero promoter Tom Brown thumbed in the direction of Romero when asked who’ll win Saturday.
“He’s like a boxing savant,” Brown said. “He just knows what to do to figure these guys out.”
Romero closed his session with reporters by repeating a mantra that boxing is easy, but “real life is hard, man.
“Learn from me now,” he said. “I will not be around forever.”
