Not so long ago, it seemed an inevitability that Ryan Garcia would challenge Rolando Romero for his WBA super lightweight world title.
After a conversation with Floyd Mayweather Jr, it appeared that Garcia would shelve talks to take on Devin Haney and instead face Romero, a match-up universally regarded as much more favourable for the popular Californian.
However, it quickly became apparent that ‘Rolly’ would be defending his strap against Isaac Cruz instead, leaving Garcia little choice but to agree terms to fight WBC champion Haney.
And recent comments from ‘King Ry’ seem to indicate that a fight between himself and Romero may never come to fruition.
In an interview with Jack Alter, Garcia described the polarising Las Vegas native as “ridiculous”, criticised his fashion sense and dubbed him “stupid.”
🚨 FIGHT ANNOUNCED 🚨
🥊 Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia
👑 WBC
⚖️ Super-Lightweight
📆 April 20th
📍 Las Vegas 🇺🇸— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 9, 2024
“F**k Rolly Romero, dude. I’m not going to ever fight him. I’m never going to give him any of that.
“He’s f***ing ridiculous, he’s so stupid, bro. You’re 30 and you’re out there wearing fur coats like calm down bro. If you’re 30 and you’re wearing fur coats, you’re weird.
“Fix your f***ing wardrobe before you speak to a real one like that, for real, and don’t use the N-word, he ain’t even black.”
“I decided to take a MUCH MORE difficult fight than Ryan Garcia for LESS money but people want to F***** BASH ME..”
Rolly Romero says Garcia would’ve “ran like a turkey” in fight, speaks on trainer split, Teofimo Lopez and Ryan/Oscar
Watch in full: https://t.co/8yIa8vYKOg pic.twitter.com/hVEf58N5Ig
— FIGHT HUB MARCOS (@heyitsmarcosv) February 12, 2024
Garcia can ill afford to have his attention diverted away from his April 20 showdown with Haney, a fight in which most observers view him as a sizeable underdog.
The 26-year-old stepped-up to elite level for the first time in April last year against Gervonta Davis, however he looked to be out of his depth and was stopped in the seventh round.
A bounce back win over Oscar Duarte followed in December, though his performance again produced question marks over whether there is substance to back up Garcia’s mammoth commerical profile.
He and Haney will lock horns in Las Vegas, though a venue has not been confirmed at the time of writing.
