05/02/25 09:55:00
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05/02 21:54 CDT Times Square boxing event ends in a stunner as Rolando Romero
beats Ryan Garcia. Haney, Lopez win
Times Square boxing event ends in a stunner as Rolando Romero beats Ryan
Garcia. Haney, Lopez win
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Ryan Garcia arrived in Times Square in a Batmobile, hoping to
look like a superhero in his return to boxing.
Minutes later, he was hurt and on the canvas, looking up at the billboards and
bright lights on the marquees surrounding the ring after being knocked down by
Rolando "Rolly" Romero's crushing left hand in the second round.
Wham! Pow!
Romero went on to beat Garcia by unanimous decision Friday night, a surprising
finish to a night of boxing like none other.
"Just Rolly's night," Garcia said. "He fought a good fight. Caught me early."
Times Square was the setting for Garcia's first fight since he was suspended
for a year after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in his
victory over Devin Haney that was later overturned and ruled a no contest.
The plan was for Garcia and Haney to move on to a rematch if they both won
Friday, but only Haney held up his end of the bargain.
He beat Jose Ramirez by unanimous decision in a matchup of former 140-pound
champions, after Teofimo Lopez defended his junior welterweight title with a
unanimous decision victory over Arnold Barboza Jr.
On a night that saw ring girls replaced by impersonators of celebrities such as
Snoop Dogg, Hulk Hogan and Michael Jackson, performers in Elmo costumes and a
drummer playing --- standard sights and sounds in Times Square on a Friday
night --- Romero (17-2) ended up as the star of the show.
He seemed to gain more confidence in the later rounds, letting more hard shots
go as it become clear Garcia (24-2) didn't seem capable of stopping him. He won
115-112 on two cards and the other judge scored it 118-109.
But Romero, who was knocked out by Gervonta Davis in a previous title shot in
New York, didn't argue that he should now take Garcia's place against Haney.
"Man, I ain't even thinking about what's next," he said. "I think Devin and
Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one."
The Garcia who knocked Haney down three times was nowhere to be seen in Times
Square -- which will undoubtedly lead to questions about how much the drugs
affected that performance last April 20.
"I just think that whole year took a lot off my body physically and mentally,"
Garcia said.
Haney and Lopez looked like themselves. So much going on around them looked
nothing like a normal big-fight night.
Fighters were delivered from the hotel a couple of blocks away by cars, with
Lopez arriving in a traditional yellow taxicab and Garcia coming in Batman's
vehicle. The cars had to stop at traffic lights in between before pulling up
outside the ring for the fighters to take a shortened ring walk.
Haney (32-0) won by scores of 119-109 twice and 118-110 on the other card,
repeatedly catching Ramirez (29-3) coming in with counter punches off the ropes.
Lopez won 118-110 on one judge's card and 116-112 on the other two after
controlling the fight with his advantages in hand and foot speed.
The Brooklyn product who has fought in title bouts in Madison Square Garden put
on a strong performance in a venue unlike the famed arena 10 blocks to the
south.
He improved to 22-1, celebrating in front of his hometown fans with his arms
raised in the shadows of the pole from where the ball drops on New Year's Eve
in New York's tourist center.
Boxers such as Mike Tyson, Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson had seats
outside the ring along with New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and a
couple of people wearing Elmo costumes. A drummer performed earlier in the
night while waiting for the next bout to begin.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment
Authority of Saudi Arabia, wanted something unique for Ring Magazine's first
boxing card in the U.S. after purchasing it last year.
Thus began the plan to fight in Times Square, bypassing Madison Square Garden
and Barclays Center for the trip to New York.
Seventh Avenue remained open to traffic --- with cars being held only briefly
when the fighters' cars crossed over --- with orange fencing blocking the view
of fans standing across the street wondering what was happening inside.
Those who did have ringside access --- and it was unclear how many did or how
they got it, though it wasn't a large number --- could pass the time between
bouts reading the ticker that scrolled along the outside of ABC's Times Square
studios just above the ring.
"It wasn't as big as I expected it to get," Lopez said of his bout, before
adding it felt bigger as the night went on.
___
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
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