I was feeling so good, because he said he wanted to sign me. “So the next day, I went over there again, I did some more damage, and, once again, Floyd hops on the ring. I beat the s-t out of that guy that day,” said Romero. When one of those sessions was about to start, Floyd hopped up on the side of the ring. I can punch very hard, so I stopped a lot of people.

“I did some rounds with a lot of top guys. Romero’s skills caught the eye of Floyd “Money” Mayweather as a result of viciously effective sparring sessions during trips to the legend’s Las Vegas-based Mayweather Boxing Club. It made me grow up a little bit.”Īn 18-year-old Romero began his brief amateur career in 2013, compiling a 25-10 record and a third place finish at the Olympic trials of 2015. “It changed my mentality not so much boxing but about being grateful. “I was over there for about three weeks and trained a few times, but the poverty over there was horrible and unreal,” said Romero. But then I started thinking, ‘I can do this.’”Ī post shared by Rolando Florencio Romero III on at 6:11pm PDT Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Takes NoticeĪ subsequent trip to Cuba further stoked Romero’s hunger. It had been a chore for me because I had never sparred. “Up until that moment, I never really cared about boxing. “I didn’t start boxing until after watching the Olympics of 2012,” said Romero, whose father assists head trainer Cromwell Gordon Bullet.

Romero gloved up for the first time as a 16-year-old at the Las Vegas-based Johnny Tocco’s Ringside Gym, having been encouraged by Rolando Sr., a former boxer in his native Cuba. “I won a lot of tournaments, but I wound up in second place in all of the national tournaments I competed in.” “I started at the same time as my sister, who is a year and a half younger than me,” said Romero, whose nickname, “Rolly,” came from his father, Rolando Sr. “When I was about seven years old, the brother of my best friend at the time got shot and killed right in front of my house.'Īs a nine-year-old, Romero began transitioning any built-up ferocity into Judo, where he excelled along with his sister, Angelica, a seven-time national champion. Growing up, there was a lot of violence,' said Romero. “I was raised in downtown Las Vegas, which has always been a bad area. One day, the savagery found its way to the doorstep of his family's home. Rolando Romero slept through gunshots in his downtown Las Vegas neighborhood as a child. A post shared by Rolando Florencio Romero III on at 5:38pm PST Humble Beginnings

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