Notebook: Garcia laments showing vs. Romero as 'horrible'
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A somber Ryan Garcia came to his post-fight news conference with no answers for why he had such a poor performance against Rolando Romero and ultimately described it as “horrible.”
Romero knocked him down with a pair of crisp left hooks to the head early in the second round and went to win a clear unanimous decision and the vacant WBA “regular” welterweight title in the main event of the Ring magazine “Fatal Fury” DAZN pay-per-view card on Friday night in New York’s Times Square.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a good night for me,” Garcia said. “It was a pretty, pretty off night. Rolly did what he does, a lot of good power shots, caught me in the second round. But even in the start of the fight I didn’t feel like my feet were under me, like I had anything. But I tried to fight through it and just found myself very off after the year layoff.”
Garcia, like Romero, was moving up to welterweight. But Garcia had not fought since his majority decision over Devin Haney in April 2024 that was changed to a no contest because Garcia tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. He was also suspended for one year and forfeited his $1.1 million base purse in a settlement agreement with the New York State Athletic Commission.
“That whole year was a lot for me, mentally, as you guys know,” said Garcia, who had also been 3.2 pounds overweight for the Haney fight and ineligible to win the WBC junior welterweight title he held at the time. “So the fact that I got here and my mind is as clear as it is is a victory for me I would say. I’m extremely disappointed in that way I fought and it definitely wasn’t my best in any way. I’ll be back and better than ever.”