Rolly Romero (17-2) pulled out the biggest win of his career on Saturday (Friday night, US time), besting Ryan Garcia (24-2, 1 NC) via unanimous decision—115-112, 115-112, 118-109—in the main event of the Fatal Fury fight card held at Times Square in New York.
A well-timed left hook by Romero sent the flamboyant Garcia to the canvass early in the second round and seemed to alter the tenor of the fight. Perhaps shaken by the knockdown, the former YouTube sensation seemingly became timid thereafter, holding back on his punches and refusing to engage with Romero.
Unfortunately for the fans watching live and on livestream, Rolly Romero appeared uninterested to go all-out either as he refused to let his hands go as well. After 12 rounds, both Romero and Garcia combined for just 490 punches—the third lowest combined output in the history of punch tracker CompuBox. The two fighters landed 123 punches in total.
Devin Haney Puts Fans to Sleep in Snoozer Versus Jose Ramirez
The Rolly Romero vs. Ryan Garcia stinker came on the heels of the snooze fest of a bout between Garcia nemesis Devin Haney (32-0, 1 NC) and Jose Ramirez (29-3).
Haney, who was knocked down multiple times in his loss to Garcia in April 2024, threw caution in the wind the entire fight, seemingly content to pop the jab and circle away from Ramirez. The result was essentially a cat-and-mouse chase atop the ring, with Ramirez chasing around Haney but refusing to throw punches in doing so.
After 12 lackluster rounds, the two men threw a combined 503 punches, with Haney landing 70 and Ramirez connecting on 40. Haney secured the victory with scores of 19-109, 119-109, 118-110.
Teofimo Lopez Beats Arnold Barboza Jr., Defends WBO Belt
The Fatal Fury fight card at Times Square was supposed to be a glorious night of boxing, with three marquee fights one after the other culminating in the Rolly Romero vs. Ryan Garcia showdown. That fight didn’t deliver on the hype. Neither did the Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez bout.
The Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. clash wasn’t exactly a classic as well, but it at least had some action—and a clear, dominant performance from Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs). The two-time world champion stamped his class, routinely beating Barboza (32-1) to the punch and darting out of trouble at the same time. In the end, all three judges had Lopez winning the bout by scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110.
Lopez’s dominant victory over Barboza is his third defense of the WBO junior welterweight belt he won in 2023.
What’s Next for Rolly Romero, Ryan Garcia, and Company?
While it isn’t immediately known what’s in store for the fighters in the Fatal Fury triple-header, it is highly likely that Rolly Romero will be able to secure a big fight the next time around thanks to his big win over Ryan Garcia. It is also possible that the much-anticipated rematch between Garcia and Devin Haney will be put on hold, at least for now due to the former’s defeat in the hands of Romero. The two archrivals might fight again in the future, but they’ll probably need to win impressively in their next fights to stir interest in a rematch.
Barboza and Ramirez, meanwhile, will have to go back to the middle of the pack so to speak and work their way back up to headliner status by stringing together impressive wins.
