Ryan Garcia will now revisit earlier plans.
Prior talks of a potential showdown versus two-division and reigning WBC junior welterweight titlist Devin Haney (31-0, 15KOs) now appear dead in the water. Garcia instead plans to return to his prior target, WBA 140-pound titleholder Rolando Romero.
“I’ve notified my team I’m going a different route,” Garcia posted Saturday morning on his verified X account. “My intent now is to fight Rolando Romero.”
The development comes just days after it seemed like all signs pointed towards a Haney-Garcia clash this spring. Oscar De La Hoya, the Hall of Fame former six-division champ and head of Golden Boy Promotions, told BoxingScene.com and other reporters his team felt optimistic that things were moving in the right direction and that he hoped to stage the fight as early as March.
Garcia (24-1, 20KOs) rebounded from a knockout defeat to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis last April 22 with an eighth-round knockout of Oscar Duarte last December 2 in Houston, Texas. He called out Las Vegas’ Romero (15-1, 13KOs) immediately after the fight.
However, Garcia recently claimed the outspoken Las Vegas native waited too long and missed the boat on such a matchup, which prompted him to target a Haney fight. He has since called an audible, though the stakes of a potential fight versus Las Vegas’ Romero (15-1, 13KOs) could change even if they are to reach a deal.
Romero is on the hook to next face the winner of Saturday’s Ohara Davies-Ismael Barroso interim WBA title fight if he wants to retain his status as the sanctioning body’s full titlist. He was previously due to face England’s Davies but cited an injury and was granted an exemption on the condition he faces Saturday’s winner by no later than March.
Any other decision would leave either Davies or Barroso as the full title claimant, assuming there is a winner in their DAZN co-feature from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Whatever the case, Garcia has made up his mind—for now.
“I pray my team backs me on this decision,” stated Garcia. “Oscar make this fight happen. THATS THE MOVE. BIGGER FIGHT, BIGGER BUSINESS. #GarciaRomero.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox