Rolando Romero disrupts Ryan Garcia’s plans in massive upset
NEW YORK — What was supposed to be a memorable event Friday night in Times Square ended up as a forgettable one that lacked action and left boxing fans unfulfilled.
The plan was for Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney to win their respective fights and meet for a highly anticipated rematch later this year. Haney held up his end of the bargain, albeit with a lackluster decision, but Rolando “Rolly” Romero played the role of disruptor, pulling off a massive upset of Garcia by unanimous decision (115-112, 115-112, 118-109) to cap an underwhelming night of fights.
In the main event, Garcia’s return to boxing after a one-year suspension for failing a drug test after his fight with Haney was a disaster. Garcia (24-2, 1 NC) entered the fight against Romero as a -1000 favorite on ESPN BET. However, he wasn’t able to uncork his trademark left hook or mount any significant offense in a dull 12-round affair.
Instead, Romero (17-2) set the tone early and dropped Garcia with a left hook in Round 2. Although Garcia didn’t appear hurt, the knockdown altered the course of the fight as he went from eager to timid for the rest of the fight. Neither fighter seemed to be interested in letting his hands go, with a combined 123 punches landed out of a total of 490 punches thrown. The output was the third-fewest in CompuBox history for a 12-round fight, even fewer than the 503 that Haney and Ramirez combined to throw in the co-main event.
“He fought a good fight,” Garcia said afterward. “He caught me early. No excuses, man. Congrats to him. He did a great job, and that’s it.”
Garcia popped the jab, but Romero was patient and kept his distance. It was a surprising performance by Romero, who was two fights removed from being stopped by Isaac Cruz in 2024. Instead of recklessly rushing in, Romero was calm and steady in his approach.
Meanwhile, Garcia couldn’t shake the effects of the early knockdown and spent the duration of the fight looking for a fight-ending punch. He never found it and will now have to go back to the drawing board.
As for Romero, he might be the only person who wants to see a Garcia-Haney rematch, despite emerging victorious on Friday.
“I ain’t even thinking about what’s next,” Romero said. “I think Devin and Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one.”
The expectation was for Garcia and Romero to deliver fireworks and make the ringside judges’ scorecards unnecessary. Instead, it was an uninspired effort from Garcia that capped off a listless night of fights against the backdrop of Times Square, where a small group of invite-only fans gathered inside a makeshift area where a boxing ring was staged. On the outside of the venue, pedestrians milled about with many stopping to see what was happening in the enclosure on several screens set up on the outside.
Turki Al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia‘s chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, planned to stage an iconic event, but the card will be remembered for a trio of underwhelming fights that didn’t come close to delivering the action promised.
The main event followed an equally subpar effort by Haney, who was let off the hook by an opponent who was content simply following him around the ring. Haney appeared to be affected by his fight with Garcia last year, where he was knocked down three times and lost a decision. The result was overturned to a no contest after Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine. Garcia also came in 3.2 pounds over the contracted weight of 140 pounds for that fight.
Haney (32-0, 1 NC) seemingly couldn’t shake off the effects of the fight and was timid and reluctant to throw punches. However, Ramirez couldn’t capitalize and was content with following Haney around the ring without a true sense of urgency. Fortunately for Haney, he was skilled enough to thwart the advances of a plodding Ramirez (29-3) in a painfully sluggish fight, which was relentlessly jeered on social media.
Of the 503 punches thrown in the fight, Haney landed 70 to Ramirez’s 40.
Plans for a Garcia-Haney rematch might still be in place as a contract was reportedly signed ahead of Friday night for a clash later this year. However, due to how their fights played out, it will be interesting to see if that fight materializes later this year or if Al-Sheikh decides to go in another direction for both fighters.
Source: espn.com