Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero Rematch Talks Begin; Garcia Makes Bold Prediction

Ryan Garcia and Rolly Romero’s teams have begun negotiations for a rematch, which could take place as soon as December. Garcia’s performance in the unanimous decision loss to Romero in May was one of the most disappointing this year. During the pre-fight buildup, Garcia was the heavy favorite, and a rematch with Devin Haney was the plan. Romero had something else to say about those plans. Garcia told The Ring, “The fight I am most interested in is me getting my rematch against Rolando Romero.” 

Talk Of Garcia vs. Romero Rematch

Following the May bout, Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC) underwent surgery on his right hand for the second time in four years. He said, “That just wasn’t me that night. I had hand problems on both of my hands, coming off a one-year layoff, and a weird training camp, training just four weeks with Derrick James, and fighting in front of a small crowd. I had a severely swollen knuckle on my left hand going in, two weeks before the fight. Anything I did flared it up.

“I was basically fighting with no hands, and that’s why you saw me barely throw any punches…It was hard for me to accept during the fight. I cried after the fight not because I lost, but because I was defenseless. It sucks when you’re a competitor, and I was actually shocked Rolly was not attacking me. It was a weird night and just a mess all the way through.” 

Garcia sees a different outcome in a rematch with Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), using a strategy that includes much more offense. “A healthy version of me knocks out Rolly. It’s simple,” Garcia said. Other than the knockdown in round 2, the welterweight battle was fairly uneventful. The combined punches thrown totaled 490. That number was the third-fewest in a 12-round fight in CompuBox history. Garcia landed 66. Romero landed 57.  

Final Thoughts

Many will say that Garcia is making excuses for his poor performance in the first fight with Romero. Others will say he should have postponed the fight if he was that injured. Although the rematch with Haney seems to be off the table, Garcia is open to a matchup with Teofimo Lopez or Manny Pacquiao.

“Sometimes you need the wake-up call,” Garcia said. “It’s no secret that I have already battled through so many challenges that most of these fighters wouldn’t be able to last. I see the noise and the people bringing me down. But I will be back, and I am going to be so happy to prove everyone wrong. That’s what champions are made of.”