Although the marketing surrounding Friday night’s unique boxing event in New York’s Times Square has surrounded the build toward an inevitable Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney rematch, the pair of young stars must first pass dangerous tests of their own.
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), who dropped Haney three times last April en route to an upset win that was changed to a no contest after Garcia failed a postfight drug test, will headline this weekend’s “The Ring” event (6 p.m. ET, DAZN PPV — Buy Now) in a 12-round welterweight bout against slugger Rolando “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KOs). In the co-feature, Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) will meet former unified junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a 144-pound catchweight bout.
The last 12 months have been anything but normal for Garcia, the 26-year-old social media sensation, who was suspended for a full year after testing positive for traces of Ostarine and embarked on a much-publicized world tour of toxicity that nearly cost him his career, family and his freedom. Along with mental health and substance abuse challenges, Garcia was arrested for trashing a hotel room, had recently endured a divorce and was dealing with his mother’s cancer diagnosis.
One year later, however, Garcia appears to be a completely different person. His body is leaner even though he is moving up in weight (which has Haney’s father/trainer Bill was quick to point out at Tuesday’s open workout) and his temperament noticeably different from the manic persona Garcia brought into the Haney fight last April, which included him drinking a beer on the scale after missing weight.
“It’s just not drinking, I guess,” Garcia told “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Tuesday about quitting drinking before training camp. “I have a whole different mindset this time around. I just prepared myself as you would as a professional boxer, that’s all it is. For myself, this is how you have to do it. You have to be professional and you have to be on point with everything if you want to be the best fighter in the world. It worked for me once but you can’t keep doing that and can’t sustain that.
“It’s just part of my story [and] one of those moments where I was just dealing with whatever I was dealing. But honestly, I don’t regret anything in my life. I just take everything as I can learn from that moment and that’s not the way I want to go or represent myself.”
With powerful Saudi Arabian adviser Turki Alalshikh funding Friday’s show and playing a key role in Garcia’s future, it has been no secret to anyone that if Garcia and Haney both win this weekend, the two will meet a second time this fall. In fact, the expensive (and entertaining) movie trailer put out by Alalshikh to promote Friday’s card barely even mentions Romero and makes it appear as if Garcia-Haney II is happening right now.
Garcia has taken his ambition one step forward by already declaring that after he defeats Romero and Haney in 2025, he plans on fighting 140-pound titleholder Teofimo Lopez Jr., who will defend his title against unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr. on Friday, early next year. On Monday, Garcia also publicly made a case for a 2026 clash against Conor Benn, who dropped a decision to Chris Eubank Jr. last week in their fight of the year contender.
Putting the cart that far ahead of the horse can be a dangerous move, especially considering the power that the 29-year-old Romero, a raw slugger who previously won a pair of controversial decisions in title bouts at 135 and 140 pounds, brings to the table.
Romero is boxing’s clown prince who is 2-2 over his last four bouts, including knockout defeats to Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in PPV title bouts. Even in Romero’s most recent bout, a tuneup last September against unheralded Manuel Jaimes, he struggled mightily to look the part of an elite fighter.
Oddsmakers have installed Garcia as a nearly 14-to-1 betting favorite, largely due to Romero’s crude technique and defensive lapses, as well as Garcia’s rocket left hook. But Romero, who claims the move up to 147 pounds will fix all of his recent issues, owns the benefit of having physically handled Garcia in an infamous sparring match back in 2017, when Garcia was still a teenager, as Romero grappled and hammered Garcia inside the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas.
Ever since that sparring session, Romero has told anyone who would listen that an eventual welterweight fight against Garcia is coming. But that doesn’t mean Romero believes that he can take anything from his time in the ring against Garcia because it happened so long ago.
“This fight was destined to happen. I called it,” Romero said during Monday’s grand arrival in New York. “I knew it was going to be at 147 pounds and be one of the biggest fights in boxing history. Look at this.
“We are both tired of watching [their sparring video]. We are two evolved, new fighters. It doesn’t matter in the ring on Friday.”
Garcia, who has bounced around between different elite trainers in recent years, spent the early part of 2025 working in the gym of Eddy Reynoso, head trainer of Canelo Alvarez, in a reunion of sorts after their public divorce just a few years ago. Reynoso was unable to commit to Garcia’s corner for this fight, however, due to Alvarez fighting on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, in a 168-pound undisputed clash with IBF titleholder William Scull.
After briefly saying his father, Henry Garcia, would take over the reins in his corner, Garcia decided to instead reunite with Derrick James, who was his trainer for his last two fights against Oscar Duarte and Haney. The early results based upon training camp footage posted to social media shows that Garcia has made improvements to his footwork, technique and right cross as he appears to be taking training much more seriously than he did last April.
“Derrick’s style is all technique,” Garcia said at Tuesday’s open workout. “He’s not worried about flash and that’s the perfect person for me. I’ve already got the speed and I’ve got the power that I can turn on. We’re like yin and yang, we’re the perfect combination.”
At the end of the day, Garcia believes he’s simply too skilled and motivated (this time for the right reasons) to have any trouble with the all-or-nothing style of Romero.
“I retired Luke Campbell, I retired Javier Fortuna and I’m about to retire Rolly and be done with these dudes,” Garcia said. “I know once I knock him out, he’s done. I’m going to take control of the fight right away. I have to control the ring. He’s not a better boxer than me but he’s going to try to do things to make me uncomfortable. Ring generalship is my best friend when I step into the ring.”
The event serves as an attempt to get to a rematch between Garcia and Haney. As such, Haney will also be on the card when he faces Jose Ramirez at welterweight. Haney remained undefeated as a result of the no contest but many fans do not view him in the same way after seeing him repeatedly blasted by Garcia. Haney’s first fight back sees him facing a talented former unified junior welterweight champion in Ramirez, who is 3-1 since losing his titles in 2021.
In possibly the most compelling fight of the card, WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez will face Arnold Barboza. Lopez is a supremely talented fighter who has repeatedly turned in poor performances throughout his career. Lopez usually blames those performances on opponents fighting too defensively. Barboza is undefeated and should bring the fight to force Lopez into a legitimate contest.
“I’m just grateful and thankful to be here with everyone and show y’all the third version of Teofimo Lopez that you haven’t seen yet,” Lopez said. “Get your pay-per-view on DAZN. Friday night. You don’t want to miss it. I’m the type of fighter who does everything and anything. I can’t wait to express that on Friday night.”
Let’s take a look at how you can catch the action on Friday night before making a prediction and expert pick on the main event below.
Where to watch Garcia vs. Romero
- Date: May 2 | Location: Times Square, New York
- Start time: 6 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: DAZN PPV (Buy Now)
- PPV Price: $59.99 (Get a discounted rate when you purchase Friday’s card and Saturday’s card together)
- Odds: Garcia -1430 vs. Romero +800
Prediction
Romero has attempted to explain away his losses, including his lifeless effort against Cruz, as more the result of difficult weight cuts than anything else. And while that’s a generous way to look at it, his power and explosiveness need to be taken seriously by Garcia, particularly in the early going where even Davis claimed he was shocked at how hard Romero punches.
The problem for Romero is that his defensive lapses and lack of elite fight IQ can only carry him so far into this fight before the explosive speed of Garcia’s left hook becomes a problem. Garcia is far more naturally gifted than Romero in almost every category and the upset win over Haney, even with the controversy, showcased just how much more confident and mature Garcia is inside the ring than he appeared in his lone loss to Davis in 2023.
This fight has all the makings to be a monster coming-out party for Garcia, who appears closer to reaching his full potential than at any other point in his up-and-down career. To even suggest such a notion when Garcia has still yet to answer in-ring questions so close to his year-long drug suspension and noted substance abuse issues speaks to how much of a pure talent he has always been.
While it has been hard for many boxing fans to excuse or forgive much of his toxic actions from one year ago, Garcia appears to have been scared straight following the threat of losing everything that matters to him over the past 12 months. All that should do is re-instill his focus and commitment now that so many big-name opponents are being lined up for him to fight in succession. Pick: Garcia via KO5
Who wins Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull and which method of victory prop could bring a big return? Join SportsLine here to see which bets you need to make for the fight, all from the accomplished veteran combat sports analyst who has consistently delivered winners.
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