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Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero scored the biggest win of his career on Friday night, upsetting Ryan Garcia by unanimous decision in the main event of a surreal outdoor boxing card staged in the heart of Times Square.
Romero dropped Garcia with a double left hook in the second round and went on to control the fight. The three ringside judges scored the bout 115-112 (twice) and 118-109 for the Las Vegas-based fighter, who improved to 17-2 with 13 knockouts. (The Guardian had it 116-111 for Romero.)
Garcia, returning from a one-year suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, struggled badly with timing and output. The 26-year-old, who now drops to 24-2 (1 NC), landed only 54 punches across 12 rounds in a fight that featured one of the lowest combined punch totals ever tracked by Compubox.
The loss throws cold water on Garcia’s proposed rematch with Devin Haney, which had been pencilled in for later this year. That plan now appears to be on hold – or dead altogether. “I just think that whole year off took a lot off my body, physically and mentally,” Garcia said. “I’m just happy I made it into the ring and fought 12 rounds. Hats off to Rolly. He did a great job.”
Garcia was dropped early in the second by a crisp left hook, then clipped again as he fell. Though he beat the count and fought on, he never recovered his rhythm or confidence. Romero, fighting under famed trainer Ismael Salas, boxed with surprising patience, mixing body shots with lead hooks while nullifying Garcia’s signature counter left with a disciplined guard.
It was Garcia’s first bout since his majority decision win over Haney last April was overturned due to a failed drug test. In the time since, Garcia was arrested for allegedly causing $15,000 in hotel damage and suspended from WBC events for racist remarks online. A planned New Year’s exhibition fight in Japan was scrapped after he suffered a wrist injury in training.
Despite entering as a 6-1 underdog, Romero outworked Garcia down the stretch and appeared the fresher fighter late. The win earned him the WBA’s secondary welterweight title and may also vault him into the conversation for a Haney fight.
Haney, fighting in the co-main, held up his end with a comfortable unanimous decision over former unified champion José Ramírez. The scores were 119-109 (twice) and 118-110.
The 32-0 Haney boxed cautiously but effectively, keeping the cruder Ramírez at bay with long-range counters and lateral movement. The bout was his first at a catchweight above 140lb and his first since the overturned Garcia fight. With Sugar Shane Mosley in his corner for the first time, Haney showed composure and sharp shot selection, even if the fight lacked drama or sustained exchanges.
Ramírez, a former unified champion and 2012 US Olympian, was unable to cut off the ring or land sustained combinations. He dropped to 29-3.
Earlier, Teófimo López opened the tripleheader with a strong showing against Arnold Barboza Jr, defending his WBO title at 140lb by a unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112 twice).
López, who had looked flat in recent outings, boxed with energy and control over 12 rounds, outlanding Barboza 127-71. The native of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood absorbed some clean counters – particularly in round six, when a series of blows left a mouse beneath his left eye – but responded well, mixing sharp jabs with body work and uppercuts in the later rounds.
Barboza, now 32-1, had waited years for a title shot and showed flashes of skill but couldn’t sustain pressure or crack López’s movement.
López’s called out Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis post-fight, and promoter Eddie Hearn indicated that a showdown with the unified welterweight champion could be next. “It’s in the works,” Hearn told DAZN, though no date has been finalized.
Friday’s event, staged in partnership with Ring Magazine and funded by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, marked the first major boxing card ever held in Times Square.
Fighters arrived by car from a nearby hotel – Lopez in a yellow taxi, Garcia in a Batmobile. Ring card holders were replaced by impersonators of celebrities including Hulk Hogan, Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson and Ed Sheeran. Traffic on Seventh Avenue continued throughout the night, with orange fencing and chain-link barricades separating onlookers from the makeshift venue.
The novelty drew thousands of boxing fans and curious tourists, who watched from across the street as bouts unfolded under the LED canopy of Manhattan’s busiest corridor. At ringside, past and present stars – including Mike Tyson, Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson – looked on from VIP seats.
Originally, the night was meant to end with an announcement for Garcia-Haney II. Instead, Garcia’s second professional setback raised serious questions about his future in the sport.
Haney remains unbeaten. Lopez bolstered his case for a superfight. And Romero may now have more momentum, and more options, than either of them.
