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 show staged in the heart of Times Square.
Romero dropped Garcia in the second round with a double left hook and never relinquished control. The three ringside judges scored the fight 115-112 (twice) and 118-109 for the 28-year-old Las Vegas native. (The Guardian had it 116-111 for Romero.)
It was Garcia’s first bout sincehis victory over Devin Haney last yearwas overturned due to a failed drug test. He had served a one-year suspension for testing positive for ostarine.
Garcia arrived in Times Square in a Batmobile, but looked nothing like the version that dropped Haney three times in Brooklyn last April. He struggled with timing and output in a fight that featured one of the lowest combined punch totals in recent CompuBox history.
Romero, improved to 17-2 (13 KOs), boxed cautiously after the early knockdown but was the sharper, more effective fighter throughout, defying the 6-1 odds against him. Garcia fell to 24-2 (with one no-contest), and the shock defeat throws cold water on plans for a lucrative Haney rematch.
Haney, fighting in the co-main event, dominated José Ramírez in a one-sided unanimous decision. Judges scored it 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110.
The win was Haney’s first since the no-contest against Garcia and his debut above 140lb. He outboxed Ramírez from the third round on, using speed and movement to pick off the former unified champion and 2012 US Olympian with counters and right-hand leads.
Haney improved to 32-0 (15 KOs), while Ramírez dropped to 29-3.
Earlier, Brooklyn’s Teófimo López opened the pay-per-view tripleheader by defeating Arnold Barboza Jr by a unanimous decision to retain his WBO junior welterweight title.
Lopez boxed well over 12 rounds, winning 118-110 and 116-112 on two cards. The former lightweight champion landed 127 punches to Barboza’s 71 and showed sharper speed and defense than in his recent outings.
Barboza had his moments – especially in rounds six and 10 – but couldn’t match Lopez’s timing or power down the stretch.
The 22-1 Lopez now hopes to secure a major unification or superfight, potentially withunbeaten welterweight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Friday’s event, funded by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and staged in partnership with Ring Magazine, was the first major boxing card ever held in Times Square.
Instead of traditional ring walks, fighters were delivered by car from a nearby hotel – Garcia in a Batmobile, Lopez in a yellow New York taxi. Celebrity lookalikes dressed as Hulk Hogan, Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson and Ed Sheeran replaced standard ring card holders.
Traffic continued on Seventh Avenue during the fights, with orange fencing separating cars from the ring. Tourists and passersby watched from beyond the barricades as bouts played out under the city lights.
The card was billed as a one-off spectacle, but with Riyadh Season’s influence growing in global boxing, more unconventional venues could follow.
What happens next for Garcia is unclear. His performance lacked the aggression, speed and sharpness that defined his rise. With Haney staying unbeaten, and Lopez sharpening his case for a headline fight, Garcia may find himself on the outside looking in.
More to follow.