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Here's a feature on him from a Canadian newspaper
Middleweight Rolls ready to graduate from sparring to spotlight
When boxing coach Tommy Howat enters the ring with his best protégé, he wears pads on his hands and a thick roll of protective foam around his midsection. The body armour still can’t save him when Toronto-based middleweight Steve Rolls commits to power punches.
During a recent workout, Rolls — a national amateur champ and undefeated pro — unleashed a left hook that made Howat groan, then a right that made him grimace. Two more left hooks sent Howat to his knees, wheezing but pleased with Rolls’ progress ahead of his 18th pro bout.
“That was really good rhythm there, bro,” Howat said through gritted teeth.
Saturday, Rolls confronts Argentina’s Damian Ezequiel Bonelli in the main event of a card at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The bout might not resonate beyond Toronto’s boxing scene but a win would kickstart a crucial phase of Rolls’ career.
Over seven years as a pro, Rolls has developed into a sparring session star, helping world champs prepare for fights and sometimes leaving them bruised. But at 33, Rolls says he’s ready to graduate from understudy to headliner, and says a win Saturday moves him closer to high-profile title bouts of his own.
“We’re working on the craft, always. It’s a 365 (days a year) thing for me,” Rolls said. “Sparring is sparring, but I know I’m right there (with world champions). I just need my time to shine. That’s it.”
As an undefeated middleweight, Rolls is well positioned to cash in. He shares the 160-pound division with two of the sport’s best-known and best-paid performers; Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez split an $8 million purse for their showdown last September. That bout generated $27 million in ticket sales — the third-highest total in history — and the pair will fight again May 5.
And unlike many other Canadian prospects, Rolls has a powerful U.S.-based promoter, New Yorker Lou DiBella, with the clout and connections to arrange big-money bouts later this year.
But Rolls lacks the built-in audience that could help him monetize his win streak. He’s a Chatham native who now lives in Toronto, and has spent his pro career fighting mainly in Quebec, Nova Scotia and the U.S. Meanwhile, tales of Rolls’ sparring sessions with established stars like WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders ripple through the boxing community, burnishing his reputation but marking him as a risky opponent to higher-profile rivals.
DiBella says bigger fights will happen when Rolls has a larger following, but growing his fan base means winning big fights.
“His window of opportunity isn’t closing, but we need to advance him,” DiBella said in a phone interview. “There’s not big money there when you’re not a young kid coming out of the Olympics, or some TV network hasn’t adopted you. It’s a hard way to make a living.”
While DiBella says he’ll lobby sanctioning bodies to move Rolls up in their rankings, the fighter has enlisted local music industry veteran Chis “Don Ella” Androustos to help build his fan base and brand.
Androustos, who manages Latin Grammy-nominated rapper Fito Blanko, says he helps connect Rolls with stylists and potential sponsors, and otherwise prep him for the fame that could accompany a world title.
Provided Rolls keeps winning.
“You have all these people like Drake and Alessia Cara repping Toronto right now, and we can put a little more light on Steve,” Androustos said. “Of course, you have to take care of business and win. You don’t want to fake it.”
Saturday Rolls faces Bonelli, a free-swinging Argentine with 20 knockouts among his 23 wins. Bonelli also has spent much of his career at light-heavyweight, and figures to enter Saturday with a size advantage.
But the 39-year-old has never won outside Argentina, nor has he defeated an opponent with more than eight wins. Seven of Bonelli’s victories have come against fighters in their pro debuts.
DiBella doesn’t imagine Rolls will struggle Saturday night, and acknowledges the bout’s main function is to keep Rolls busy while the title landscape at 160 pounds clarifies. Belts from the three largest sanctioning bodies — the WBC, WBA and IBF — are tied up with Alvarez and Golovkin, but DiBella expects opportunities for minor titles to arise later this year.
The promoter mentioned undefeated Texan Jermall Charlo as a potential future opponent, but Rolls is less specific.
“My dream fight is a world title,” Rolls said. “Anybody who has that title, let’s do it. With the title comes the paydays.”
When boxing coach Tommy Howat enters the ring with his best protégé, he wears pads on his hands and a thick roll of protective foam around his midsection. The body armour still can’t save him when Toronto-based middleweight Steve Rolls commits to power punches.
During a recent workout, Rolls — a national amateur champ and undefeated pro — unleashed a left hook that made Howat groan, then a right that made him grimace. Two more left hooks sent Howat to his knees, wheezing but pleased with Rolls’ progress ahead of his 18th pro bout.
“That was really good rhythm there, bro,” Howat said through gritted teeth.
Saturday, Rolls confronts Argentina’s Damian Ezequiel Bonelli in the main event of a card at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The bout might not resonate beyond Toronto’s boxing scene but a win would kickstart a crucial phase of Rolls’ career.
Over seven years as a pro, Rolls has developed into a sparring session star, helping world champs prepare for fights and sometimes leaving them bruised. But at 33, Rolls says he’s ready to graduate from understudy to headliner, and says a win Saturday moves him closer to high-profile title bouts of his own.
“We’re working on the craft, always. It’s a 365 (days a year) thing for me,” Rolls said. “Sparring is sparring, but I know I’m right there (with world champions). I just need my time to shine. That’s it.”
As an undefeated middleweight, Rolls is well positioned to cash in. He shares the 160-pound division with two of the sport’s best-known and best-paid performers; Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez split an $8 million purse for their showdown last September. That bout generated $27 million in ticket sales — the third-highest total in history — and the pair will fight again May 5.
And unlike many other Canadian prospects, Rolls has a powerful U.S.-based promoter, New Yorker Lou DiBella, with the clout and connections to arrange big-money bouts later this year.
But Rolls lacks the built-in audience that could help him monetize his win streak. He’s a Chatham native who now lives in Toronto, and has spent his pro career fighting mainly in Quebec, Nova Scotia and the U.S. Meanwhile, tales of Rolls’ sparring sessions with established stars like WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders ripple through the boxing community, burnishing his reputation but marking him as a risky opponent to higher-profile rivals.
DiBella says bigger fights will happen when Rolls has a larger following, but growing his fan base means winning big fights.
“His window of opportunity isn’t closing, but we need to advance him,” DiBella said in a phone interview. “There’s not big money there when you’re not a young kid coming out of the Olympics, or some TV network hasn’t adopted you. It’s a hard way to make a living.”
While DiBella says he’ll lobby sanctioning bodies to move Rolls up in their rankings, the fighter has enlisted local music industry veteran Chis “Don Ella” Androustos to help build his fan base and brand.
Androustos, who manages Latin Grammy-nominated rapper Fito Blanko, says he helps connect Rolls with stylists and potential sponsors, and otherwise prep him for the fame that could accompany a world title.
Provided Rolls keeps winning.
“You have all these people like Drake and Alessia Cara repping Toronto right now, and we can put a little more light on Steve,” Androustos said. “Of course, you have to take care of business and win. You don’t want to fake it.”
Saturday Rolls faces Bonelli, a free-swinging Argentine with 20 knockouts among his 23 wins. Bonelli also has spent much of his career at light-heavyweight, and figures to enter Saturday with a size advantage.
But the 39-year-old has never won outside Argentina, nor has he defeated an opponent with more than eight wins. Seven of Bonelli’s victories have come against fighters in their pro debuts.
DiBella doesn’t imagine Rolls will struggle Saturday night, and acknowledges the bout’s main function is to keep Rolls busy while the title landscape at 160 pounds clarifies. Belts from the three largest sanctioning bodies — the WBC, WBA and IBF — are tied up with Alvarez and Golovkin, but DiBella expects opportunities for minor titles to arise later this year.
The promoter mentioned undefeated Texan Jermall Charlo as a potential future opponent, but Rolls is less specific.
“My dream fight is a world title,” Rolls said. “Anybody who has that title, let’s do it. With the title comes the paydays.”
Oh this is getting funny
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