In one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, unheralded Rolly Romero captured the vacant WBA welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Ryan Garcia in the main event of FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, on DAZN PPV from Times Square in New York City.
While Garcia looked off from the start, a second round knockdown from Romero via left hook was all it really took to keep the trajectory of the fight in Romero’s favor.
Though Romero never really followed up for the remainder of the fight, he was active and largely outboxing Garcia who couldn’t muster up much offense. In some of the middle round, there was a severe lack of action but Romero’s limited offense was still far more than what little Garcia was willing to offer up.
Final scores were 115-112, 115-112, and 118-109. 3MoreRounds had it 117-111 for Romero.
“Knockdowns always help,” said Romero (17-2, 13 KOs). “Ryan is a warrior. He got up, and he finished the fight. I’m just grateful for this opportunity.”
“I’m not even thinking about what’s next,” said Romero when asked about whom he’d like to face in his next match. “I think Devin and Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one.”
“Rolly fought a good fight,” said Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs). “He caught me early, no excuses. Congrats to him. He did a great job, and that’s that.”
“I think the whole year took a lot off my body physically and mentally,” said Garcia. “I’m thankful for the opportunity. Hats off to Rolly… I’m gonna go back to the drawing board, talk it over, and see what we do next.”
In the co-faeture, former undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) earned an easy unanimous decision over former titlist Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-3, 18 KOs).
“I felt good going into the fight, and the game plan I worked on definitely showed,” said Haney. “I handicapped him. He couldn’t do anything in there.”
Scores were 118-110 and 119-109 twice for Haney.
“I felt good going into the fight, and the game plan I worked on definitely showed,” said Haney. “I handicapped him. He couldn’t do anything in there.”
The card also saw WBO junior welteriweight titlist Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) earn a unanimous decision win over Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-1, 11 KOs).
It was a rather uneventful performance even for Lopez who cruised through all 12 rounds with little excitement. Scores were 118-110, 116-112, and 116-112.
“I’ve been telling myself this whole week that anything happening is happening for me and not against me,” said Lopez. “I felt great. I felt reborn.”
