Garcia gets dropped, loses to Romero by unanimous decision

The lead-up to Friday night’s big fights at Times Square in New York City was that Devin Haney would beat Jose Ramirez, Ryan Garcia would handle his business and defeat Rolly Romero, and the two would fight for the second time in the fall.

Haney beat Ramirez by a unanimous decision; however, Garcia did not do his part.

In the main event, Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) dropped Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) in Round 2,  outworked and outboxed him for 12 rounds to get the unanimous decision victory.

Two judges scored the fight 115-112, and another had it 118-109.

The knockdown changed things in this fight. Romero, who, like Garcia, was making his debut at 147 pounds, landed a left hook flush on Garcia’s jaw and followed with another left hook that dropped Garcia. After he was dropped, Garcia seemed tentative and was wary of Romero’s power.

“Knockdowns always help,” said Romero. “Ryan is a warrior. He got up, and he finished the fight. I’m just grateful for this opportunity.”

The punch output from both fighters wasn’t very high. In fact, according to CompuBox, this was the fourth fewest combined punches thrown in a 12-round fight.  Romero threw 280 punches and landed 57. Forty-five of his 57 shots landed were to the body, while Gacia threw 210 punches and landed 66. This low punch output could be attributed to the fighters’ cautious approach and respect for each other’s power.

After the loss, Garcia, who tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine in 2024 after his fight with Haney, made no excuses.

“Rolly fought a good fight,” said Garcia. “He caught me early, no excuses. Congrats to him. He did a great job, and that’s that…

“I think the whole year took a lot off my body physically and mentally,” said Garcia. “I’m thankful for the opportunity. Hats off to Rolly. I’m gonna go back to the drawing board, talk it over, and see what we do next.”

To his credit, Romero, who lost his 140-pound title to Isaac Cruz in 2024 before beating Manuel Jaimes in his last outing, looked bigger and stronger at 147. 

For Garcia, you have to ask questions about the impact of the PEDs in the Haney fight. The year layoff didn’t help either. He did not seem to fight with an edge. End of the day, Garcia-Haney 2 still could happen and still probably should happen. It’s still a big fight, but Garcia’s loss does hurt it a bit.