No one was more surprised or disappointed than Ryan Garcia to learn Thursday that Rolly Romero will fight Isaac Cruz next, not him.
Garcia thought late Wednesday night that representatives for him and Romero were in the process of finalizing a deal for them to fight April 20 for Romero’s WBA super lightweight title. Premier Boxing Champions instead announced Thursday afternoon that North Las Vegas’ Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) will defend his WBA 140-pound crown against Mexico City’s Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs), who will move up from the lightweight limit of 135 pounds to challenge Romero on March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Romero-Cruz will be the co-feature of PBC’s inaugural show with Amazon Prime, a pay-per-view event that will feature WBO junior middleweight champ Tim Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) against former WBA/WBC welterweight champ Keith Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs, 1 NC) in a 12-round, 155-pound, non-title fight.
Romero’s decision to face Cruz has left Garcia searching for an opponent. The Victorville, California native announced on social media early this month that he instructed his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, to pursue a showdown with Romero rather than the fight he initially stated that he wanted with rival Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs), who owns the WBC super lightweight title.
“Look I was informed the deal was finalizing and it would be announced in the coming days,” Garcia wrote in a message posted Thursday on X. “Obviously that was a lie. My patience has been tested the last few weeks. I’m trying my best to be honest and real as I can to you guys. I’ll be looking forward to announcing my next fight. I’m not going to say anything until it’s actually signed and delivered. I still look forward to putting on a big PPV for DAZN Boxing. Have a Blessed day.”
Garcia didn’t specify who he thought was lying. Regardless, Romero’s decision gutted Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), who Wednesday night announced on social media that the Romero fight would indeed happen April 20.
“4-20 Live on @daznboxing PPV Tickets and Location soon,” Garcia announced in that message on X. “It’s time To enter battle once again. I understand that there has been a lot of confusion but this fight is happening. I’m happy to announce this. Everyone is going to post this soon don’t worry. I love you guys. COMMENT WHAT YOU THINK?” #GarciavsRomero
The 25-year-old Garcia also noted Wednesday night on X that Floyd Mayweather, whose company promotes Romero, announced on Instagram that Romero-Garcia would be next.
“Btw Floyd posted this fight before everyone,” Garcia stated. “So you know it’s happening.”
Garcia changed his mind about boxing Haney and shifted his focus to challenging Romero after he spent some time with Mayweather early in January. It later looked like Romero and Garcia would go their separate ways, but their handlers re-engaged in negotiations and appeared to have made progress before the Romero-Cruz deal was closed.
Romero trolled Garcia on X after Garcia gave his thoughts Thursday on their fight falling apart.
“@RyanGarcia go fight a tequila bottle and some xannies in April,” Romero wrote.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.