Rolly Romero Outpoints Ryan Garcia 

New York, New York – Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) returned to the ring after a yearlong suspension against Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), his return, however, did not go as expected. Ryan demonstrated ring rust and seemed unprepared for a power puncher like Rolly.

The added weight enhanced Romero’s strength, dropping Garcia in the second round via a double left hook. Ryan was beginning his offensive assault in the match by gradually increasing his output from the first to the second round, throwing a fight-high 28 punches in that round.  When he suffered the knockdown, he appeared shaken and then changed his approach by limiting exchanges, significantly decreasing his output for the next ten rounds.

“Rolly fought a good fight. He caught me early, no excuses. Congrats to him. He did a great job, and that’s that,”  said Garcia. Romero outpointed Garcia by being the most active of the two, throwing 215 jabs,  connecting 39 of them (Compubox). The combined 490 punches thrown by both fighters is the third-lowest punches thrown recorded by Compubox in their 40-year history.

With the unanimous decision victory, Rolly captured the WBA welterweight title, placing himself back on the winning path. Defeating a big-name star like Ryan only increases his profile and gives him many matchmaking options going forward. “Knockdowns always help. Ryan is a warrior. He got up, and he finished the fight. I’m grateful for this opportunity,” said Romero.  The move to 147 helped him, and it showed in the ring. Ryan was hesitant to engage after having felt Rolly’s power. Going forward, we could see the Rolly of old, the power puncher who knocked opponents out.

In the co-main event, Devin Haney took on Jose Ramirez, and similar to Garcia-Romero, it was a match of limited exchanges where we saw Haney take a very safe approach by boxing on the outside for the full 36-minute match. The combined 503 punches thrown by both fighters earned the fourth spot in the Compubox rankings for the fewest punches thrown, right below  Garcia-Romero. Records, the Fatal Fury organizers were not aiming for when the event was created. Haney outlanded Ramirez 70 to 40 in total punches landed, earning him the unanimous decision victory. It was a very technical match by Haney, who seemed content to do minimal work to earn the victory. “I felt good going into the fight, and the game plan I  worked on definitely showed. I handicapped him. He couldn’t do anything in there,” said  Haney. He had stated previously that he was going to correct the mistakes of the Garcia fight and go back to what he does best, which is box. This strategy diminishes the opponents’ opportunities, making it difficult to land.

In the tripleheader opener, Teofimo Lopez defeated Arnold Barboza Jr. via unanimous decision.  Lopez demonstrated his agility and elusiveness, staying out of range of Barboza’s punches. The speed and footwork proved challenging for Barboza. “We gave it our all, but this time, we came up short. Congratulations to Teofimo on a hard-fought victory. We’ll take the experience, learn from it, and come back stronger. The work continues. Maybe we can fight Ryan next, or Haney,  or anyone that will give us an opportunity,” said Barboza. As for Lopez, a move to welterweight could be in the future, stating it might be time to make the move. He appears to have his sight  set on Jaron Ennis, calling him out, “I’m Dora the Explorer, and I’m looking for Boots.”