Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero are in “advanced talks” for a rematch in December. Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) says he knows why he lost the first fight against Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), and he’ll have fixed those problems for the second fight.
December Fight Negotiations
Their fight at the Times Square event in New York City last May was boring for fans to watch. Ryan wasn’t letting his hands go, and Romero didn’t do much either. Fans on social media are cool to the idea of a rematch after the disappointment of their last fight. They’d prefer that they both go in a different direction.
Manouk Akopyan says Romero and Ryan have “kicked off negotiations.” Garica knows what “went wrong” in the fight last May, which resulted in Romero winning a 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 15-112, 118-109, and 115-112.
Ryan blamed his loss on having two injured hands, coming back from a long layoff, and not feeling comfortable fighting in front of a small crowd. It sounds like a lot of reasons. Perhaps the real reason Garcia lost is that he couldn’t handle Rolly’s power, size, and aggressiveness. He dominated him the same way in their sparring session years ago. Ryan was 100% healthy for the sparing, and Rolly batted him around the ring with ease.
Pushing the rematch to December seems like a waste of time for both fighters. It should be sooner. If they wait until December, they’ll have both been out of the ring for seven months. If Turki Alalshikh is going to finance the fight, it may not matter how long it takes to get the rematch done.
Garcia’s Revenge Path
Ryan may live to regret his decision to fight Rolly again. If he loses this fight, his career will be in bad shape. The rematch with Devin Haney would have less of a chance of happening. But with Ryan’s $50 million fortune, it may matter if he loses the rematch with Romero. He’ll still be rich and can retire if Turki chooses not to use him for any of his events.