LOS ANGELES – Rolando Romero is relishing his revived role as a power player after scoring a resounding unanimous decision win against Ryan Garcia in May.

For the time being, Rolly is taking it easy and waiting to see how the cards in the welterweight deck reshuffle. Romero currently holds a secondary WBA 147-pound title and is expected to be elevated to full champion once unified and Ring titlist Jaron Ennis officially vacates his crown for his planned move to 154 pounds.

Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) will also be an interested observer when Manny Pacquiao returns at 46 to challenge WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on July 19.

Romero sees himself as a PPV attraction and believes he can be a perfect dance partner for Pacquiao down the line.

"Whether he wins or loses, Pacquiao is a legend and I would love to fight him," Romero told The Ring in an interview. "Barrios and I have been cool for the longest time, I don't want to fight Barrios. I want Barrios to beat Pacquiao.

"Barrios is really big, man. Pacquiao is fast, so Barrios just has to time him. He throws fast from a lot of different unconventional angles. But he jumps in, and look at what Juan Manuel Marquez did when he knocked him out in 2012."

Romero also offered his opinion on the Pacquiao-Barrios undercard fight featuring his former conqueror Isaac Cruz, taking on Angel Fierro in a rematch following Pitbull's 10-round unanimous decision win in a February war.

"What has Cruz done [since beating me]? He lost to Jose Valenzuela. Pitbull Cruz is trash," said Romero. "I clearly had an off day. He had a good day against me, and that's boxing … Fierro won the first fight. I don't know how the rematch is going to go."

Cruz scored an 8th-round stoppage of Romero in March 2024 to wrestle away the 140-pound WBA title he'd controversially won 10 months earlier against Ismael Barroso, suffering the second defeat of his pro career. Gervonta Davis snapped his 14-0 unbeaten streak with a 6th-round knockout during their May 2022 title fight.

The WBA lightweight champion Davis is getting ready for a rematch of his own against Lamont Roach Jr. in a fight slated for Aug. 16 following their majority draw in March. Romero favors his former rival Davis to right his wrongs and remain undefeated.

"I'm truly not interested in that fight," said Romero. "Do you remember anything else in that fight outside of the controversial knockdown? Maybe Tank didn't prepare right for that fight and Roach knew him well. There was no significant thing happening in that fight. It was a perfect draw because neither guy won or lost the fight."