What was meant to be a tune-up fight for Ryan Garcia turned into a stunning upset, as Rolando Romero handed the Victorville native a decisive defeat. In a weekend carefully orchestrated by Turki Alalshikh to showcase boxing’s biggest stars, all eyes now turn to Canelo Alvarez in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to salvage the momentum.

The 26-year-old had appeared unusually composed in the lead-up—focused, calm, and seemingly dialed in. He even arrived at Times Square in a Batmobile, setting the stage for what was supposed to be a dominant performance. But from the second round on, the narrative flipped.

Ryan Garcia becomes a victim of irony

Romero shocked the crowd by dropping Garcia with a left hook—ironically, Garcia’s own signature punch. From that moment, the Victorville native never fully recovered. Slowed and hesitant, he struggled to regain control, while Romero pressed forward, dictating the pace and punishing his opponent throughout the bout. Despite the pleas of trainer Derrick James, Ryan Garcia remained stuck in the memory of that knockdown. In the end, Romero cruised to a unanimous decision victory, derailing not just Garcia’s momentum but possibly the highly anticipated showdown with Devin Haney later this year.

To make matters worse, Haney himself delivered a performance that drew widespread criticism—a sluggish, low-output decision win over Jose Ramirez that left fans underwhelmed. With both Garcia and Haney failing to deliver, the burden now falls on Canelo Alvarez to save the weekend boxing extravaganza organized by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. And fans seem to agree.

PED controversy comes back to haunt Garcia

After the results were announced on canvas, a user shared a clip from the event of Alalshikh, visibly disappointed. “TURKI P***ED OFF THAT RYAN GARCIA IS F***ING UP THE HANEY REMATCH,” the user reacted. The fate of the rematch now remains unclear until the parties involved reveal their next steps.

Someone else found the entire event dreadful. The user commented, “Well that card was proof that putting three stars in one card doesn’t make for action,” adding, “Dreadful show. Hopefully Canelo and Monster can wash the taste of that s**t out of our mouth #Boxing #GarciaRolly #FatalFury.” Canelo Alvarez will, of course, fight William Scull on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Garcia also seems to be attracting new allegations about his positive Ostarine test results from last year. “NO OSTARINE, NO WIN,” one user commented. Garcia had tested positive for Ostarine after his fight against Haney, which resulted in his year-long suspension from boxing. 

Another user, echoing a similar sentiment, speculated whether it was due to Garcia not being on the banned substance. The user wrote, “Was it the lack of ostraine? #boxing” However, it seemed like Garcia went into the fight without ample preparation.

The next user further mocked the event, claiming, “The city that never sleeps finally fell asleep with these boring a** fights #Boxing #RyanRolly.” It was the first of its kind, made possible because of Turki Alalshikh. 

That being said, Ryan Garcia seems to have made a huge fumble, but boxers lose and win every day. It would be interesting to see how Garcia bounces back from this setback. Would you like to see him fight again?