Ryan Garcia and Rolando Romero at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom
Ryan Garcia and Rolando Romero went face-to-face for the first time during Fight Week on Monday at the Empire State Building in New York. The welterweight contenders approach their main event bout taking place at Times Square on May 2.
Garcia (24-1, 1 NC) of Victorville, CA steps through the ropes for the first time since his fight with Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC) last April in Brooklyn. Las Vegas’ former WBA super lightweight champion “Rolly” Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) targets his second straight victory since dropping his title to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz last March.
The first Fight Week face-off also featured other fighters battling it out on the night. San Francisco’s former two-weight champion Haney returns to the ring in a welterweight bout against former unified 140-pound champion Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) of Hanford, CA.
Plus, Brooklyn’s two-division champion Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) and Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) of Long Beach, CA square off in a world championship bout. Lopez puts his WBO super lightweight title is on the line. Unbeaten interim WBO 140-pound champion Barboza Jr. looks to claim the full belt.
Ryan Garcia at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomRolando Romero at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomRyan Garcia and Rolando Romero come face-to-face at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomRyan Garcia and Rolando Romero come face-to-face at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomRyan Garcia and Rolando Romero at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomRyan Garcia and Rolando Romero at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomDevin Haney at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomJose Ramirez at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomDevin Haney and Jose Ramirez come face-to-face at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomDevin Haney and Jose Ramirez at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomTeofimo Lopez at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomTeofimo Lopez at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomArnold Barboza Jr at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/MatchroomArnold Barboza Jr at Empire State Building in New York, NY, April 28, 2025 | Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom
The Garcia vs Romero preliminary action sees Chicago’s Levale Whittington (1-2-1, 1 KO) up against Reito Tsutsumi of Japan. The latter makes his pro boxing debut. The pair meet at featherweight.
