LAS VEGAS – Rolly Romero was pursued by Manny Pacquiao, by his mandatory opponent, by Conor Benn.

He said he paused them all until he found religious peace.

Romero, the WBA welterweight titleholder moving toward a late-May unification with unbeaten three-division champion Devin Haney, hasn’t fought since knocking down and defeating current WBC welterweight belt holder Ryan Garcia May 2 in New York’s Times Square.

“I needed that year off,” Romero, 17-2 (13 KOs), told BoxingScene on Wednesday in his first week of rigorous training as promoter Premier Boxing Champions awaits a signature from Romero’s longtime Las Vegas neighbor Haney, 33-0 (15 KOs). “There’s no way I would be physically ready to fight. God protected me.”

Pointing to professional and personal travails that dated to 2021 and included “747 days” of unease and strife, Romero, 30, said he finally has solved the crisis and is focused on resuming his career.

“I knew there was something more out there in the world even though I lost my trust in the Lord,” he said. “I wasn’t ready for the fame. I wasn’t ready for the wealth, for any of that stuff.”

Romero claims the period of religious unrest overlapped his victory against Garcia, when he strained his right shoulder in the hours before the bout but felt the confidence to land a double-left that decked Garcia in the second round of the fight.

That shot paced Romero in posting the upset that spoiled the planned Garcia-Haney rematch, a run-back of their controversial 2024 fight that was ruled a no-contest after Garcia recorded three knockdowns but tested positive for PEDs.

“I said, ‘God, I’m worried about my shoulder,’” Romero said of his victory over Garcia. “[God] said, ‘You’ll win, you’re not going to need it.’ Everyone wanted the Devin-Ryan rematch. I couldn’t throw my right.

“They’re not going to give me the scores. I have one arm, and I’m going to win this fight? I said, ‘OK, Lord, I’ll surrender myself to you.’ God said, ‘Pay attention.’”

By January, Romero said repeated panic attacks, waking up in chills and not eating subsided when he said he heard Jesus tell him, “‘My son, in my eyes, you’re perfect.’ He revealed the thorn in my flesh that tormented me for 747 days. The day I gave my life to Christ is the day he took it out.” 

Now, the witty, hammer-fisted Romero is back to old ways, asking BoxingScene comically why he’s not ranked more accurately by Ring Magazine.

“I mean, real question: How is Ryan Garcia still above me on the ratings?” Romero asked. “Devin bodied Brian Norman and is No. 1. Norman is No. 2. Ryan is No. 4. [Eimantas] Stanionis is No. 3. And I am No. 5.”

“Stanionis hasn’t fought in two years. Brian Norman got bodied by Devin, who got bodied by Ryan, who got bodied by me. Explain the logic in this. Apparently, they don’t like Rolly.”

Asked if defeating Haney and becoming the top welterweight would please him, Romero said, “Would they put me on the pound-for-pound list, actually? Are you sure?”

In sparring Wednesday, Romero’s power was impressive. Since Haney had problems with Garcia’s left-hook power, Romero was asked if the connected dots mean he will win.

“I’d rather connect a punch to his face,” he cracked. “Power’s cool. It’s always cool to have power.”

Romero’s trainer, Ismael Salas, predicts that the fighter’s power punching “will be” the difference.

“Step by step, we’re taking him to the next level,” said Salas, who was asked who currently ranks as the world’s top welterweight.

“I don’t say that. He has to prove it. Many people like to talk big. I like to make him better. I foresee him better,” said Salas, who diminished the concern of rust after Romero’s year-long layoff. “Can be, but all of them have taken a long layoff, so it’s equal.”

When asked if power is his top asset, Romero said no.

“My brain. I’m a lot sharper than people give me credit for, and I’ve done played dumb for how many years now?” he asked. “But somehow I’m always a step ahead of everyone else.”

Cuba’s Salas is enthused by the matchup.

“Everybody knows Devin Haney lost to Ryan. Rolly beat Ryan,” Salas said. “Rolly has been improving a lot since he’s been with us. He’s matured. I don’t like to change his style.”

Although Haney possesses the best resume among himself, Romero and Garcia, Romero ranks as the most penetrating.

“He’s undefeated?” Romero asked. “Devin Haney has two losses. He lost in Mexico and to Ryan. But he won in the courtroom – litigation champion of the world.

“I beat the dude that beat him with very little effort. I see things in Devin. I can see into his eyes.”

By seeking undisputed status, Romero predicts, “My voice will change millions of souls. Being undisputed is cool, having all four belts, being on the pound-for-pound list, making the Hall of Fame ... boxing is just a moment in my life.

“You guys will see the best Rolando Romero you've ever seen.”

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.