Rolly was responding to comments from Teofimo’s camp about taking his WBA welterweight title before moving on to bigger fights. Rather than objecting to the idea that he is being treated as a stepping stone, Rolly offered his own version of events.
“I beat Teofimo, he still goes on to bigger fights. He becomes world champion at 147 anyway,” Romero said to the media. “Teofimo can beat all the other guys at 47.”
Romero made sure nobody mistook that praise for a prediction that Teofimo would beat him.
“Remember this though, I’m always betting on me. I’m always betting on me,” he said. “But whether it’s through me or any of the other belt holders, Teofimo will still become world champion at 147, and he’ll still be a three-division world champion.”
Teofimo’s current situation isn’t quite as imposing as Romero makes it sound. He lost his 140-pound championship to Shakur and now moves to welterweight without a belt. Winning another title at light welterweight wouldn’t necessarily be easy either.
A championship at 147 is possible under the right circumstances. Teofimo has enough speed, power and experience to capitalize on the correct matchup. That’s different from assuming he can simply beat the division’s other champions.
Romero has every reason to present him that way. If Rolly wins, he doesn’t want people deciding afterward that Teofimo was simply a former champion who moved up and found himself in the wrong division.
Better to set that up in advance: Rolly beat a future welterweight champion, but Teofimo just hasn’t collected the belt yet.
