Garcia, Haney, Lopez Trade Words In Kick-Off Presser – ‘Just Watch Me’
The build-up for Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero’s May 2 fight from Times Square, New York City, is underway as the kick-off presser took place.
Ryan returns to the sport following his year ban from boxing, which expires in April 2025. He was banned after failing VADA tests for Ostarine following his Devin Haney win. The result became a no-contest, preventing Garcia from his biggest win. Romero has the chance to add insult to injury. He bounced back from his loss to Isaac Cruz, which saw him lose his WBA belt at 140, by beating Manuel Jaimes. The fight is at 147, the first time the two have boxed at this weight class.
Haney will also face off against Jose Ramirez. He took time out from the Garcia fight to reevaluate his prospects. He fights at 147 for the first time, knowing a win sets up a Garcia rematch in October. Ramirez has plenty to prove, having suffered a defeat to Arnold Barboza Jr. the last time out. Teofimo Lopez is also featured in a defense of his WBO Welterweight Belt against Arnold Barboza Jr. It is the first time he fights under Eddy Reynoso’s tutelage, as Barboza Jr. is full of confidence following his Jack Catterall win.
Presser
“I want to be great, I have also wanted to fight the best fighters, as far as my problems outside the ring, I’ve always had those struggles, I want to show everybody that you can come back from anything. I admit my wrongs, I want to show I’m a true professional, I don’t want anyone to take my actions of drinking and smoking before a fight and thinking that’s the professional thing to do,” Ryan Garcia
“I mean, if I was clout chasing, he’d have had clout, but he didn’t have any. It’s just sparring, we’re gonna see the real fight in the ring, it’ll be one of the biggest fights in US history that’s for sure. “I said years ago me and him were going to fight at welterweight, I outgrew 140 and 135 long, long ago. I’m all muscle right now,” Rolando Romero
“He’s 32-0, he just got an interim world title. At 15 fights I got my first world title and I won it at Madison Square Garden, then became undisputed at 16 fights. I’m only 27. You beat around the bush when they said, ‘How come you didn’t accept this fight back then?’ To be real, I never had you in my sights.
More Quotes
“Shout out to Top Rank for cutting the umbilical cord off and letting your ass crawl, finally. You want to wolf and talk like you’re big and bad, fighting an injured ‘Loma’ [Vasiliy Lomachenko] and an injured [Josh] Taylor, bro,” Barboza
“I took a year off like I said I was going to. I wanted to come back when I felt it was the right time. But when I came back I wanted to fight the best fighters in the world, I didn’t want to face any regular ‘Joe Blow’. I wanted to fight a two-time world champion like Jose Ramirez,” Haney
“I think people underestimate my speed and power, but I’m ready to put it together on May 2. You thought I was strong at 140, just watch me at 147,” Ramirez
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