Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero’s former trainer, Bullet Cromwell, says Ryan Garcia lacks the “heart” and “dog” to deal with adversity in his fights. Cromwell wasn’t surprised that Rolly upset Garcia with his 12-round unanimous decision on the May 2nd Times Square card in New York. He felt Garcia would mentally quit once he started getting hit by Romero, which is what happened.
(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)
Bullet notes that Garcia was “afraid to engage” even before being knocked down in the second round of his loss to Romero (17-2, 13 KOs). He says the fight was “over” after Rolly dropped Ryan. He stopped trying to win.
Garcia Lacked Heart
“Ryan is not a dog. He’s a good talent, he’s not a dog, and he doesn’t have any heart,” said trainer Bullet Cromwell to Fighthype, discussing why Ryan Garcia lost to Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero at Times Square in New York on May 2nd. “Once you take his heart, it’s over. And I’m sad to say, because he’s a good fighter, but some fighters just don’t have it. They don’t have that heart.”
We don’t know why Ryan didn’t show aggression against Rolly. It didn’t help that Garcia had been inactive for 13 months, fighting outside at Times Square, and facing an awkward fighter. Rolly is tough to deal with because he’s got an unpolished style and throws wild shots with a lot of power. The size advantage that Romero had factored into the outcome. He looked like a junior middleweight inside the ring against the thin, spindly-legged Kingry.
Bullet Blasts Garcia’s Courage
“Before he got dropped, he was scared to engage,” said Bullet about Ryan being fearful of trading with Rolly even before he was knocked down in the second round.
Garcia was hesitant to throw right off the bat because Romero had hit with some big shots in the first round and made a lot of noise when throwing. Understandably, Ryan was afraid to get hit by Rolando because he felt his power and didn’t want to get clipped. Garcia has never had a great chin. Luke Campbell dropped Ryan in the second round of their fight in 2021, and he was never a great puncher. You hate to say it, but Ryan is packing glass in that chin.
Ryan Quit Mentally Early
“He threw a semi-fast left hook, and Rolly was hoping and wishing for it and just gave him a dose of his own medicine right on time,” said Bullet. “After he got dropped, it was over. I would have had him [Rolly] finish him [if he were still training Rolando].”
I don’t think Ryan ever recovered from the second-round knockdown. He had a dazed look for the remainder of the fight, and he was unwilling to put himself at risk. If Ryan had a good jab and right hand, he would have won because he had other weapons to fall back on. Rolly figured out his left hook, and he would make him pay when he threw it.
“He showed the world he’s more patient, and that only comes with time. I wanted that patience when he fought Gervonta Davis, but at that moment, he was still young and having the fights on a big scale,” said Bullet about Rolly.
Based on this one fight, you can’t get excited about Romero because he was fighting a gun-shy fighter in Ryan. If this had been Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz fighting Rolly on that night, he’d have lost to him again and looked just as mediocre as he did in his eighth-round knockout loss to him last year in March.
“Rolly is a dog, and he has a heart. He just has to wait for the timing and the experience. With 35 amateur fights, I took Rolly on and made him a champion, a two-time world champion,’ said Cromwell.
Romero’s Vulnerable Chin
It doesn’t matter that Rolly is a dog. He’s still vulnerable in the chin department, as we saw in his knockout losses to Pitbull Cruz and Gervonta Davis. He likely would have lost to Ismael Barroso in 2023 if not for the referee Tony Weeks abruptly halting the fight in the ninth round after he missed with four shots.
Cromwell is in a state of exaltation now, seemingly taking partial credit for Romero’s win, but it will be interesting to see if he’s still talking if Rolly loses his next fight. I guess he’ll be lying low, not saying anything because there’s nothing to take credit for.
Last Updated on 05/22/2025
