Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero: Ryan Garcia vows to send Rolly Romero into retirement in blockbuster New York showdown
Ryan Garcia has vowed to send bitter welterweight rival Rolando “Rolly” Romero into retirement when they face off in a blockbuster headline bout at The Ring’s Fatal Fury Times Square , live on DAZN Pay-Per-View .
Garcia has been out of action since his no-contest clash with WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney in April 2024.
Garcia originally was victorious, winning the fight via unanimous decision, but he later tested positive for a banned substance and received a lawsuit from Haney with a one-year suspension from boxing.
On Friday, the American fighters will face different foes on the same bill in New York City, with the hope victory can tee them up for a second dance in the ring later on this year.
Ahead of a seismic occasion for Garcia as he strives to rebuild his reputation, the 26-year and Romero spoke to Chris Mannix during a DAZN face-off ahead of this weekend’s showdown.
“At the end of the day I’m just excited to be back in the ring,” said Garcia, who has battled mental demons but said he was now “clean” and in tip-top condition.
“Rolly is a pretty good fighter, and I think this has been a long time coming – it could set me up really well for the rematch with Haney. But first I’ve got to focus on Rolly and here we are.”
Romero said: “I said it was going to be one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing and definitely in the history of the United States.”
The rivalry between the pair has been bubbling under the surface ever since Garcia and Romero sparred together eight years ago.
The bad blood remains and Garcia told him during the face off: “You actually should be thanking me for the success you’ve had in your career because you used me in that sparring match.
“You used those moments – don’t lie. I was the hottest prospect in the sport.”
The video of them sparring as teenagers has been widely viewed on social media and Garcia added: “It’s one of those things that just never left my career.
“No matter what I did, they were always running that so I’m happy this fight is finally happening. We get to see what would happen in a real fight.”
When asked by Mannix if the video had affected him down the years, Garcia admitted: “One hundred percent yes, it’s bothered me.
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“Not so much recently, but more when I was coming up.
“It was a regular sparring match and he had a couple of good moments but I felt like I sparred pretty good considering I was really low on weight at the time.
“It’s something I always wanted to put a stake in – I don’t want that to even be near me.
“That’s why I’m here to fight him and destroy him and then nobody gets to talk about that no more.
“You’re in for a rude awakening and you’re in big trouble now.”
Garcia admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana ahead of his April 2024 fight with Haney.
He told Romero: “You’re in big trouble because I’m not doing the stuff I was doing when I beat Haney, so that just shows where I’m heading.
“I showed everyone on my Instagram; I was drinking, I was smoking weed but now I’m not.
“You can see right now I’m clean so I’m even more focused. I’m training every day.”
Romero, who claimed their looming bout was “long, long overdue”, responded by saying: “I want you to be [clean] because I don’t want anyone to take away any credit or any of that once I stop your a—.
“I want him to be the best Ryan he can be because that will make just the fight 10 times bigger.”
Garcia warned Romero ahead of Friday’s clash: “You’re going to be retiring that night – it’s going to be your last fight.
“One hundred percent believe that. It’s your last hurrah so you better go out with a bang.”
