Ryan Garcia’s comeback fight against Rolando Romero ended in a surprising defeat, with Romero dominating the match and winning by decision, disrupting Garcia’s planned rematch with Devin Haney.
Ryan Garcia’s comeback fight was a disaster. On Friday night, he returned to the ring after his suspension, following a controversial no-contest win over Devin Haney in 2024. This time, he faced Rolando Romero in the main event of “Fatal Fury: City of Wolves.” It was supposed to be a warm-up for a rematch with Haney. But then, Rolly Romero had other plans.
Romero, a massive underdog, surprised everyone. He seemed more confident and outperformed Garcia, even knocking him down in the second round. From that point, Romero controlled the fight, mixing power shots and slowing the pace. It became one of the lowest punch-count 12-round fights ever. Romero won decisively, with scores of 115-112, 115-112, and 118-109.
After the fight, Garcia showed sportsmanship, praising Romero’s performance. “He fought a good fight, caught me early,” Garcia admitted. “No excuses. Congratulations to him.”
Reflecting on his own performance, Garcia said, “I just think that whole year took a lot off my body physically and mentally. I’m just happy I made it to the ring and went 12 rounds.”
Romero, humble in victory, acknowledged he might have postponed the Garcia-Haney rematch. Yet, he was quick to suggest, “I think Devin and Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one.”
Given Haney’s lackluster showing against Jose Ramirez earlier that night, a rematch seems likely.