During today’s final press conference ahead of this weekend’s welterweight title fight between Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez, both fighters spoke to the media before some personal issues started to creep up between the fighters, with Teofimo in particular getting offended by Rolly’s flippant attitude.
“To me, he’s an interim champion,” Teofimo said. “He’s always been a three division interim champion. He’s never been an actual super champion or any world champion, he’s been elevated. And I think
some people forget that this guy’s not in my league. He won’t ever be in my league. He never was in my league, and I think that’s the whole purpose of this thing, is for me to show everyone that. Just because he beat Ryan Garcia — I’m not Ryan Garcia.”
Rolly would then attempt to troll Teofimo about considering reconstructive surgery on his face.
“You can say all that. It’s all fun and games, you got you shirt off and all that stuff, showing your chest and everything — you know, same thing you did with Tank. Same thing. So I seen all these things with you and you can say what you want to say, smile, but it ain’t going to matter come Saturday night.”
Rolly would continue to poke fun at Teofimo Jr and Sr, which Jr didn’t take too kindly considering he doesn’t believe Rolly has accomplished nearly as much to be cracking jokes.
“What have any of you guys done in this sport to even come about it?” Teofimo exclaimed. “I beat Lomachenko when nobody wanted to fight Lomachenko, #1 pound-for-pound over Canelo, over Crawford, over all their heads. You came afterwards and congratulated me. All you guys are fans. All of you are fans. I’m fighting my fans fight now. Who’s the best fight Shakur has on his resume? Me.
“I think everybody needs a reality check on this this. I’m coming back with a vengeance, and I mean that…And I’m coming for you first. You’re going to be my Judas, because I always knew how you always were about me but I was always kind about it because I got a big heart.”
But Rolly, being a man of God at this point in life, couldn’t let that one slide.
“I never hated on you,” Rolly would say. “I’ve been the only boxer to support you.”
The pair would then get into a back and forth argument that lead to Rolly getting up out of his seat and making a lot of hand gestures in Teo’s direction. Once Rolly took a seat after having defended his honor, Teofimo Sr offered some final thoughts.
“You’re going to get your chance, Rolly,” Teofimo Sr said. “Come Saturday night, when you corner a dog he’s going to come and fight. So everybody expect a fight…And this is a fight against the whole world, the whole industry, the whole boxing community. My son was not in the pound-for-pound list when he beat Josh ‘F-ckin’ Taylor, undisputed champion…That fight in January was a mental fight to destroy my son and now we coming back to f-ck everybody up because my son loves it when he’s down!”
