Steve Rolls is a solid opponent for Edgar Berlanga on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN, ESPN+).
The one-time amateur star from Toronto, now 37, has relied on his formidable skill set to outclass most of his opponents. And he can punch a little. His last two victories have come by knockout, including a ninth-round stoppage over Christopher Brooker in December.
Rolls’ problem is that he was blown out the only time he faced an elite opponent, Gennadiy Golovkin, who stopped him in four rounds in June 2019.
That performance seemed to expose Rolls’ limitations. However, he still believes in himself. And he’s pretty sure that Berlanga knows he’s no pushover.
“I think he wants to step up and get closer to a world title shot,” Rolls said. “He wants a challenge. That’s why they chose me. I’m sure he could have taken an easier route. But credit to him for picking an opponent of my caliber. I’m going to bring experience into this fight.”
That includes his bad experience.
Rolls (21-1, 12 KOs) was reasonably competitive with Golovkin for three-plus rounds. Then he was hurt by a left hand, which led to his demise. Moments late another huge left put Rolls on his face and out.
The Canadian believes lessons learned in that fight will help him against Berlanga and beyond. He still dreams of winning a world championship.
“I still got big goals that I have and that I need to accomplish,” he said. “That’s all that [Golovkin] fight was. It wasn’t a fight where I was getting blown out or wasn’t competitive. I made a mistake. He has experience. And I think that’s going to serve me well on Saturday night.”
“I have goals. I want to put a world title around my waist, so we both have pressure on us. He’s not the only one with pressure. This is a fight that we both need.”