Ryan Garcia’s Disastrous 2024 Continues To Unravel

Ryan Garcia has had a disastrous start to his 2024 campaign.

Less than 24 hours after announcing he would next face Rolando “Rolly” Romero in a fight that would have headlined an April 20 DAZN PPV show, the news turned out to be completely false. The timing was peculiar, given that Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy chairman and Garcia’s promoter, claimed that Romero had priced himself out of such a fight less than a week earlier.

Two fighters who had previously targeted a showdown with Garcia will instead meet in a clash for Romero’s 140-pound title on March 30 in Las Vegas in support of the WBO junior middleweight world title main event featuring Tim Tszyu taking on Keith Thurman to kick off Amazon Prime’s new streaming deal with PBC.

Garcia addressed the confusion in a statement.

“Look, I was informed the deal was [finalized] and it would be announced in the coming days,” he explained. Obviously That was a lie. My patience has been tested the last few weeks. I’m trying my best to be as honest and real as I can to you guys.

“I’ll be looking forward to announcing my next fight. I’m not going to say anything until it’s actually signed and delivered. I still look forward to putting on a big PPV for [DAZN] Boxing. Have a Blessed Day.”

In a series of follow-up messages, Garcia implied that Romero and his team went behind his back to make a deal with Cruz by posting emojis of snakes and ducks.

Last month, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) announced his intentions to face Haney, the current WBC junior welterweight world champion and former undisputed lightweight king.  “I’ve advised my team to contact team Haney to discuss and make the fight happen between Devin and I #GarciaHaney,” he wrote on 12/19. Just over two weeks later, Garcia announced he had changed his mind and targeted a bout with Romero instead. Now Garcia is out of both fights as he and his team search for yet another alternative.

The big winner in all this is Mexico City’s Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs), who embarked on his own mission to secure a Garcia fight. Instead, he finds himself in the catbird’s seat, searching for his first-world title. Isaac Cruz is coming off a 12-round split decision victory over Giovanni Cabrera on July 29 in Las Vegas in the co-main event to the then-highly-anticipated undisputed welterweight super fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford. Unfortunately for Cruz, fans were displeased with the performances of both men and booed throughout the bout.

Las Vegas’ Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) has not fought since a heavily controversial ninth-round stoppage of Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso to win the WBA junior welterweight title last May. Romero was ordered to face England’s Ohara Davies in a mandatory title defense but was sidelined due to an injury, forcing the WBA to name Romero their “Champion in Recess. As a result, the WBA subsequently ordered a Davies-Barroso fight, where the winner would receive a mandatory shot at Romero by March 20. Barroso scored a first-round knockout of Davies on January 6 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Barroso stunned the boxing world when he dropped Davies twice and scored a first-round knockout of the Englishman on January 6 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

The WBA has not ruled whether Romero’s belt will be at stake against Cruz for failing to honor the sanctioning body’s demands. As of this moment, Romero will enter the ring as the champion.

Ryan O'Hara

Ryan O’Hara is an award-winning sportswriter based in Denver, Colorado. The 30-year-old has been recognized by the Boxing Writers Association of America three times for his accomplishments, with a best finish of 2nd at the 2022 awards ceremony.

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