American welterweight Ryan Garcia was unexpectedly beaten at Times Square in his long-awaited return to the ring.
Garcia was banned by boxing authorities after testing positive for a prohibited substance last year but lost to Rolly Romero by unanimous decision after a knockdown in the second round of their bout.
The vacant WBA regular welterweight title was on the line in New York City and was won by the underdog, a huge blow to fans anticipating a rematch between Garcia and Devin Haney.
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Haney was Garcia's last opponent before his ban. His victory was overturned after his doping ban, which took him out of the ring for the last year.
Romero's big left hook in the second was part of the reason for the Las Vegas fighter's win by scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 118-109.
26-year-old Garcia dropped to a record of 27 wins, 2 losses and 1 no contest as a result of the defeat by Romero.
The winner now has a 19-2 record and left an evidently gutted Garcia to lick his wounds before deciding on his next move.
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Often controversial, Garcia was magnanimous in defeat, posting on X, formerly Twitter: "First want to thank God for everything in every situation, I couldn’t do it tonight, I’m devastated and really sad that I fought the way I did. I just didn’t have it tonight, felt off.
"I fought a lot to get here, as you know what I went [through] last year was something a lot of people don’t come back from. So I can see a victory for me in that.
"Congratulations to Rollies, hell of a dude and great-hearted person. Wish you nothing but the best."
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Elsewhere on X, Garcia's tearful mood post-fight was cruelly caught on camera and the reaction of fans was one of concern, albeit not universally.
"Damn man I actually feel bad," posted one user.
"He knows he fumbled that rematch bag with Devin Haney. I don’t even wanna see it now till Ryan gets a win first!" said another.
"Ryan is not that dude, I thought he was!" announced an armchair boxing pundit.
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"Not a fan of him, in the slightest even. But as someone who also trains boxing/MMA I don't see the joy in this," said another poster.
Topics: Boxing, Boxing News, Ryan Garcia
Chris Nee