Boxing

Despite potentially throwing a wrench into their plans, Rolando "Rolly" Romero still believes Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney should have their rematch.

After upsetting Garcia by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA (Regular) welterweight title on Friday night, Romero told reporters he feels Garcia vs. Haney II should still happen, saying: "I ain't even thinking about what's next. I think Devin and Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one."

In April 2024, Garcia and Haney clashed in a fight that was supposed to be for Haney's WBC super lightweight title, but Garcia failed to make weight, so the championship wasn't on the line.

Garcia went on to beat Haney by majority decision, seemingly handing the previously undefeated Haney the first loss of his professional career.

However, it was revealed after the fight that Garcia failed a drug test due to testing positive for Ostarine, so the result was changed to a no contest.

After serving a one-year suspension, Garcia returned to the ring against Romero on the same card as Haney's clash with José Ramírez.

While Haney beat Ramírez by unanimous decision, Garcia fell to Romero, which calls into question whether a rematch is still in the cards.

Per ESPN's Andreas Hale, it remains possible that Garcia vs. Haney II could happen due to reports that a contract was signed for the fight prior to Friday's results.

Canelo Alvarez fights and Cinco de Mayo weekend go hand in hand, with the Mexican-born fighter competing over the holiday 10 times in the last 15 years

That tradition continues Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when Alvarez battles Cuba's William Scull for the undisputed super middleweight championship. It marks the first time in his career that Alvarez will fight outside of the United States.

In preparation for the fight, find out who the current favorite is, when and where to watch, and the prediction for the contest with this preview.

Viewing Info

Date: Saturday, May 3

Time: Approximately 11:00 p.m. EST

Place: ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Stream: DAZN pay-per-view

Current Odds

Alvarez (-3000; bet $100, win $103.33)

Scull (+1400; bet $100, win $1500)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Prediction

Alvarez will win this fight.

A patient, calculating fighter who leaves no doubt by landing clean punches, he will survey Scull early on before adapting to his pace and teeing off on him. Expect body shots as he wears down the Cuban boxer and a either a knockout or TKO midway through the fight.

Scull can win if he can utilize his timing and a quick right hand to his advantage.

He will be the same efficient boxer he has always been, picking and choosing his shots but failing to do enough to justify an official's decision, thanks to the limited number of punches he will ultimately land.

Alvarez, the more experienced and frankly better boxer, will feed right into Scull's style, allowing him to develop a false sense of security before teeing off on him, landing body shots and jabs that fill out the judge's scorecard.

While he could win by decision, expect a barrage of mid-round rights and lefts to and about the body to be the difference here, as Alvarez wins by unanimous decision and adds the 63rd win of his career.

And deals Scull his first loss.

Prediction: Alvarez by unanimous decision

Canelo Álvarez defeated William Scull by unanimous decision after 12 rounds Saturday at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, retaining his undisputed unified super middleweight titles.

Álvarez got off to a slow start, spending much of the early rounds in a defensive stance as Scull launched several heavy shots that failed to connect cleanly or cause any real damage.

By Round 6, the fight remained close and difficult to score, with Álvarez edging ahead 58-56 thanks to a few sharp exchanges, per ESPN's Brett Okomato. As the bout entered the later rounds, the referee urged both fighters to be more aggressive, prompting Álvarez to respond with a series of body shots in Round 9, though none seemed to significantly alter Scull's methods.

By the end of the fight, Álvarez appeared visibly frustrated with having to chase Scull around the ring, while the crowd grew restless with the slow-paced bout as it headed to the scorecards.

Álvarez landed 56 of his 152 punches, edging Scull’s 55 landed on 293 thrown. Álvarez controlled the body attack, while Scull found more success targeting the head.

Álvarez entered the match putting his WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles on the line.

The 34-year-old was 62-2-2 lifetime, with his only defeats coming against undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 and Dmitry Bivol in 2022, when he moved up to the super light heavyweight class to challenge for the WBA title.

He entered the evening with five straight victories after the loss to Bivol. All the matches were wins via unanimous decision.

Scull, meanwhile, put up his UBF super middleweight title. The 32-year-old won the vacant belt after beating Vladimir Shishkin via unanimous decision last October. Nine of his 23 fights have ended via knockout.

Scull is an accomplished fighter, but Álvarez is a boxing legend. So it was understandable that, per DraftKings, he was a massive -3500 favorite to win going into the night.

In the end, the chalk held, and Álvarez earned the victory. Now he looks ahead to a superfight with Terence Crawford in September.

They say the best-laid plans often go awry, and the sport of boxing experienced that firsthand on Friday night.

What was supposed to be a crowning achievement for the sport turned into a massive disappointment, as one of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory is likely off the table after two of boxing's biggest stars failed to deliver.

Under the bright lights of New York City, the first boxing event ever to be held outside in Times Square ended with Ryan Garcia losing to Rolando "Rolly" Romero by unanimous decision in his first fight following his one-year suspension following his win-turned-no-contest against Devin Haney. A win by Garcia would've secured a rematch against Haney, who won his catchweight bout against Jose Ramirez in spectacularly lackluster fashion earlier in the night, but Romero spoiled those plans.

Garcia was dropped in the second round after Romero cracked him with a left hook, and the 26-year-old struggled to find his footing from there.

Despite his early success, Romero took his foot off the gas and turned the fight into a slow-moving contest that lacked action as he trudged his way toward a clear decision win by scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 118-109. According to Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting, it was the third-lowest total of punches thrown in a 12-round fight in boxing history.

To make matters worse, Romero failed to capitalize on his moment when he delivered an overly humble message during his in-ring interview. Rather than using his time on the microphone to build his star power and call for his own main-event fight against Haney, he inexplicably suggested that he and Garcia should still do their rematch and fill their pockets.

"I ain’t even thinking about what’s next," Romero said in the ring. "I think Devin and Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one."

Romero is probably the only person who still wants to see Garcia and Haney face off again after Friday night.

Haney was also fighting after a yearlong layoff following his disappointing performance against Garcia in April 2024 in which he was knocked down three times, and it showed. The former undisputed lightweight champion looked tentative and scared to pull the trigger against Ramirez. While Haney did enough to earn scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110, he failed to generate any interest in another marquee matchup. He surprisingly wasn't even interviewed in the ring following his win.

Despite Garcia vs. Haney 2 losing its luster, the night wasn't a complete dud. The event, dubbed "Fatal Fury: City of Wolves," was one of the most unique showcases boxing has ever seen. Teofimo Lopez, a Brooklyn native, retained his WBO and Ring junior welterweight titles with a dominant unanimous decision win over Arnold Barboza in the first of the three main events.

From the illumination from the video screens in Times Square to the sirens wailing and music blasting on the streets surrounding the ring to the construction workers fresh off a shift who got to watch the fights from a bird's eye view above the venue, New York City was front and center as a featured character throughout the night.

The event bordered on the absurd at times and brought back the spectacle of boxing, with Garcia making his entrance in a Batmobile, celebrity impersonators as ring card holders and hundreds of fans packing the sidewalks outside the venue just trying to get a glimpse of the show.

Still, boxing's Big City blowout tripped over its own feet before reaching the finish line. Haney's snoozefest and Garcia's disaster created questions about what's next for both fighters, as they both have some work to do to win back boxing fans and reignite interest in their eventual rematch.

Devin Haney defeated José Ramírez via unanimous decision (119-109, 119-109, 118-110) on Friday evening in New York City's Times Square.

This match was part of an outdoors event that also featured Ryan Garcia facing Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez fighting Arnold Barboza Jr.

Haney-Ramírez was not an action-packed fight, to say the least. CompuBox provided the details.

Much of the this fight consisted of the two boxers circling around the ring. Of note, Ramírez only landed two punches in six of the 12 rounds. In addition, the two fighters only combined to land nine punches over the first two rounds, setting the tone for the rest of the bout.

In the end, Haney did more in the low-action fight, earning the victory.

Haney was making his return to the ring after initially losing via majority decision to Ryan Garcia in April 2024. However, the fight was then ruled a no-contest after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine.

With the win, the 26-year-old Haney moved to 32-0 lifetime with the one aforementioned no-contest. The 32-year-old Ramírez is now 29-3 after losing two straight.

Teofimo Lopez defeated Arnold Barboza via unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112 and 118-110) on Friday to retain the WBO and The Ring light welterweight titles.

Lopez beat Barboza on a loaded card taking place outdoors in New York City's Times Square.

The matchups also included Ryan Garcia facing Rolando "Rolly" Romero and Devin Haney taking on Jose Ramirez.

The 27-year-old Lopez, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, before moving to Florida at the age of six, enjoyed a dominant title defense.

After the match, Lopez made clear who he wants for his next bout.

Lopez has now moved to 22-1 lifetime with 13 knockouts. The 33-year-old Barboza lost his first ever professional fight and is now 32-1 with 11 knockouts.