Ryan Garcia dropped by Rolly Romero in shock defeat to spoil Devin Haney rematch plans
Rolly Romero ruined Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney's rematch plans in a shock upset on Friday night.
The 29-year-old opened up as a massive +700 underdog, but he proved the oddsmakers wrong by beating Garcia via unanimous decision.
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Romero dropped Garcia with a double left hook early in the second round and proceeded to outbox his gun-shy adversary over the distance.
In the end, the three ringside judges scored the fight 115-112, 115-112, and 118-109 in Romero's favour to spell an end to hopes of a Haney vs Garcia rematch.
It was reported that the bitter rivals had reached an agreement to run back their controversial inaugural encounter in late 2025.
All they needed to do was win their respective fights on the Ring Magazine card in New York's Times Square.
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Haney beat Jose Ramirez in a low-output affair to complete his side of the deal.
However, Garcia's loss to Romero means a second fight is now in serious jeopardy.
Haney watched on in dismay as Garcia let the bout slip away from him, while 'King Ry' was left dejected in the immediate aftermath.
"Rolly fought a good fight, he caught me early," said Garcia post-fight.
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"No excuses, man. Congrats to him, he did a great job, and that is that.
"That whole year took a lot out of my body, both physically and mentally.
"I'm just thankful I made it to the ring and went 12 rounds.
"Thank God for the opportunity. I want to thank Jesus Christ for my losses and my wins.
"And hats off to Rolly, he did a great job. I have just got to go to the drawing board with my team, we will talk it over and see what we do next."
Garcia was returning to the ring for the first time in 13 months after serving his one-year drug suspension from the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).
'King Ry' dropped Haney three times last April en route to initially being declared the victor via majority decision.
However, the result was overturned to a no contest after it was found Garcia had tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine.
He was cleared to fight last month after submitting a clean drug test to the NYSAC, although his next steps are unclear after his devastating defeat to Romero.
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