Boxing
Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero: Former Romero opponent makes prediction for Times Square main event
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When Roland ‘Rolly’ Romero walks to the ring at Times Square on Saturday, he will be taking on a task that many think he will be unable to complete.
Romero’s record, at 16-2 (13 KOs), has fewer big names upon it. And he has largely lost to those big names, with stoppage losses to Gervonta Davis in 2022 and Isaac Cruz last year. His record suggests good power, although the two stoppage losses equally posit that he is vulnerable to being stopped.
Meanwhile, Garcia is 24-1 with 20 stoppages and will come into the ring on the back of an impressive run against a slot of top-ranked opponents. Despite eventually being ruled a no-contest, his last bout saw him initially be awarded a majority decision over Devin Haney after twelve rounds (Haney is also appearing on the New York card this weekend, with the pair seemingly on a collision course for another fight later this year).
A knockout loss to Gervonta Davis two years ago aside, Garcia has won since 2019 comprehensively against Jose Lopez, Romero Duno, Francisco Fonseca, Luke Campbell, Emmanuel Tagoe, Javier Fortuna, and Oscar Duarte Jurado.
Former Romero opponent Anthony Yigit picks Ryan Garcia to win
(Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)
Romero has much fewer big names on his resume.
One of them is the Swedish Muhammad Anthony Yigit, whom Romero stopped in the seventh round of their 2021 fight in San Antonio, Texas. Yigit, now retired and working as a trainer, finished with a 29-4-1 (10 KOs) record that saw him once crowned European super lightweight champion.
Despite their history, Yigit predicts that Romero will find Garcia too big an obstacle this weekend.
“I'd bet my money on Ryan to pick him apart,” he says from his home in Stockholm, “but Rolly is a style-breaker. He makes you fight his fight. If he can drag Garcia into a messy brawl, he might better his odds of pulling an upset.”
Garcia, however, is not invulnerable. Davis knocked Garcia down in the second round, then stopped him in the seventh in their 2023 fight, while Luke Campbell put the American on the floor in the second round of their bout. It is worth noting that both Davis and Campbell fight as southpaws.
Romero does not.
Yigit says that if he were to fight Garcia, then he would be watching for the latter’s counterpunching.
“He’s a great counter puncher,” he says, “and I usually struggle with those.”
As to what he would look to do against Garcia, Yigit says that he would like to counterpunch the counterpuncher.
He says: “I'd make sure to pace myself and let him make the mistakes and overextend. I’d keep on the outside, only to close the distance after he commits to something, responding to that and finding the openings in his defence. He also squares up when defending, leaving his body open. I’d just have to be careful of that counter hook he throws. It’s crazy good and difficult to anticipate!”
Watch two incredible fight nights this week only on DAZN
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- May 2: Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero; Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr.
- May 3: Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull
Fight fans can purchase either these fight nights individually for $59.99 US; £/€21.99 UK/IRE; $24.99 ROW per PPV or take advantage of the DAZN Knockout Weekend Bundle where both fight cards can be purchased for $90 US; £34.99 UK and €34.99 Europe.
