Ryan Garcia’s Path To Vindication: Can ‘Kingry’ Reclaim His One-Punch Power Against Rolly Romero And Overcome PED Doubts?

Ryan Garcia must show fans that he still possesses his one-punch power in his return to the ring against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero in their 12-round welterweight contest on May 2nd at Times Square in New York City. People want to see if Ryan’s left hook smash punch is still present after a year layoff and if he can test clean.

Doubt Lingers

There are still pockets of fans doubting Kingry (24-1, 20 KOs) because he was flagged for the banned PED Ostarine from his last fight against Devin Haney on April 20th. The New York State Athletic Commission took away Garcia’s win, turning it into a no-contest, and suspended him for a year.

Ryan has a past history with Rolly (16-2, 13 KOs) from when he got worked over in sparring by him years ago. Rolly gained game and made a career out of that sparring session, which led to him getting an underserved world title shot against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis in May 2022. He made millions from that fight and increased his wealth with an immediate world title fight against Ismael Barroso in 2023 despite coming off a knockout loss.

Female heavyweight world champion Claressa Shields discredits Ryan’s win over Haney, saying that he beat him with a “steroid hook,” and says “he cheated.” Garcia needs to show her that he can beat Haney testing clean because she feels the fight would have had a different outcome if Ryan hadn’t been on PEDs.

Shields’ Accusations

“Ryan’s a drug cheat, and he knows he cheated. The world keeps saying, ‘Oh, Devin didn’t get out of the way of a hook.’ He got hit with a steroid hook,” said Claressa Shields to Fight Hub TV, discussing why Ryan Garcia beat Devin Haney last April.

“It was a steroid hook, and it hurt him since he got hit in the first round. Yeah, he [Haney] should have got out of the way of the hook and the other punches, but the hook at the right hand had a little more stuff on them because he was positive for Ostarine.

“So, I want Rolly to win [on May 2nd] because Ryan is disrespectful. He’s a disrespectful kid. Everyone is giving him a pass about him going to rehab, and he’s doing better. That stuff is in him, and that’s his character.”