Ryan Garcia will return against Rolly Romero on the same card as his nemesis Devin Haney in May.
Ryan Garcia has a record of 24-1 after his latest win over Devin Haney was overturned after Garcia tested positive for a banned substance in his system.
Only four of Garcia’s victories have come by decision, and he earned his first world title shot against a former Olympian after back-to-back first-round knockouts.
Ryan Garcia defeated Olympic gold medalist after consecutive first round KOs
In 2021 Garcia produced a career-best performance as he came back from a knockdown to stop Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell in the seventh round of their contest for the WBC interim lightweight world title.
Garcia’s win over Campbell would be the last fight of Campbell’s career, having also lost to Vasyl Lomachenko and Jorge Linares.
Garcia earned the shot at Campbell after two consecutive opening-round knockouts, the first of which came against 21-1 Romero Duno, who Garcia flattened with a right hand and hook.
The next was Francisco Fonseca, who had only lost to Gervonta Davis and Tevin Farmer.
Garcia stopped Fonseca with a solid left hand that left him flat on his back. In the words of the commentators: “He did the exact same thing he did to Romero Duno. One round. He’s out.”
Ryan Garcia lost to Gervonta Davis after devastating shot
In 2023, after Garcia defeated Javier Fortuna, he faced his fiercest opponent to date, ‘Tank’ Davis, who has a 90% KO rate.
Garcia quickly realized what he was up against as Davis dropped him in the second round. Garcia regained his composure and fought on, but was ultimately stopped in the seventh round after a body shot left him unable to continue.
This loss is the only one of Garcia’s career. He returns in May against Rolly Romero in a bid to set up the rematch with Haney.