Ryan Garcia suffered a shock points loss to Rolando Romero at New York’s iconic Times Square, denting hopes of a planned rematch with Devin Haney.
American Garcia, 26, was dropped in the second round by a left hook and outboxed in large parts of the welterweight bout.
Underdog Romero, 29, was deservedly awarded a unanimous decision with scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 118-109.
“He fought a good fight; caught me early. No excuses, man. Congrats to him – he did a great job,” Garcia said.
Garcia was competing for the first time since serving a one-year doping ban after testing positive for banned substance ostarine following his victory over Haney in April 2024, which was overturned into a no-contest.
“A whole year took a lot of my body physically and mentally,” Garcia said, adding that he would now go “back to the drawing board”.
Earlier, Haney, 26, kept his side of the bargain with a unanimous yet underwhelming win against fellow American Jose Carlos Ramirez.
Haney boxed on the back foot as neither fighter threw anything of note in a forgettable 12-round contest.
In the performance of the night, American two-weight world champion Teofimo Lopez defended his WBO light-welterweight title with a stylish points win over compatriot Arnold Barboza Jr.
