Rolly Romero pulled off a big surprise by beating Ryan Garcia on Friday night in Times Square, New York City. The judges scored the fight unanimously in Romero's favor, handing Garcia his first loss in over a year.
Romero took control early, knocking Garcia down in the second round. From there, he kept the upper hand for most of the fight. Garcia couldn't get much going on offense, struggling to land effective punches.
The scorecards showed how one-sided the fight was. Two judges gave it to Romero 115-112, while the third had an even wider margin of 118-109.
This was Garcia's first time back in the ring since he fought Haney in April 2024. The long layoff might have played a part in his performance.
Terence Crawford, who's won world titles in four weight classes, was watching the fight. He shared on social media:
"I told Shakur Stevenson before the fight that Rolly was going to win."
The event had other big names in action too. Teofimo Lopez defended his WBO super-lightweight title against Arnold Barboza. Devin Haney also came out on top against Jose Ramirez.
Garcia and Haney were supposed to have a rematch later this year. Now, with Garcia's loss, those plans might change.
Crawford's got his eye on what's next for him. He's hoping to fight Canelo Alvarez in September. But first, Canelo has to win his fight on Saturday in Saudi Arabia against William Scull. The match is set to be a tough one for Canelo.
Crawford's keeping his fingers crossed that there won't be another upset. He doesn't want anything to get in the way of his next big fight.
