Facing ‘Rocks In His Hands’: Ryan Garcia Concedes Rolly Romero’s Threat, Sees Greater Risk Than Haney Or Lopez

Ryan Garcia feels he’s got the toughest match-up on the Fatal Fury card of the three A-side fighters on May 2nd at Times Square in New York City. Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) faces the powerful but deeply flawed Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in the main event on that DAZN PPV card.

(Credit: Michael Owens/Matchroom Boxing)

Times Square Fights

• Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero
• Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez
• Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.

The other two A-side fighters, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez are facing Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza in fights that they can win by outboxing their opponents. Ryan says that Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) have less to worry about there’s no threat of them having their lights turned out.

Ramirez’s Hook Chance

Haney’s weak punch resistance does put him at moderate risk of being stopped because the former WBC and WBO 140-lb champion Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) does have some power. However, his knockouts have come from landing an accumulation of shots, and he probably won’t be able to do that against Haney due to his movement.

Devin also does a lot of jabbing and holding. If Ramirez focuses his training camp on throwing short check hooks the way Ryan does, he could knock out Haney because he’ll catch him when he’s coming in to clinch.

A big part of Haney’s game is clinching. It’s become a staple of his style since his fight with Jorge Linares in 2021, and he can’t revert to the way he used to fight without getting knocked out repeatedly.  So, if Ramirez trains for throwing short hooks, he’s got a good chance of finishing what Garcia started.

“I think I do. If you don’t have that punching power, just box them and beat them,” said Ryan Garcia to Akin Reyes and Barak Bess’ YouTube channel when asked who has the toughest match-up on the May 2nd ‘Fatal Fury’ card at Times Square. “They’re [Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez] the favorites for a reason.

Avoiding the Rocks

If Ryan can avoid getting hit by any of Rolly’s wild shots, he’ll easily win the fight. It’s not going to be easy for him to do that because Romero will likely still be in the fight up to the sixth round. He’s good for six rounds at least, and he can do a lot of damage within that time. If Ryan hurts him before then with one of his left hooks, he’s got to try and finish him.

“So, because of his power?” said Bess about Ryan needing to watch out against Rolly due to his punching power.

“Even Tank said, ‘This dude has rocks in his hands,’” said Garcia about Romero. “I feel like this dude is explosive. If I get caught with one shot, it could be the end of the night.”

“Tank says Rolly hits harder than you,” said Reyes.

“Yeah, exactly. That’s what I’m saying. I feel like I have the most high alert,” said Ryan about Rolly. “He might not be the most skilled, but if he lands, it’ll be an early night.”