Garcia vs. Rolly, Haney vs. Ramirez, Bakole vs. Ajagba: triple header in Times Square


Turki Al-Sheikh has just announced that Ryan Garcia will face former WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, Devin Haney will face Jose Ramirez and Martin Bakole will face Efe Ajagba on the same card in May. This is set to air on PPV from Times Square in New York.

Triple Headed Fights

  • Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero
  • Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez
  • Martin Bakolé against. Efe Ajagba

Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) had a tough fight, facing former WBA and WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs). I wonder if it was Bill Haney’s brilliant idea to pit Devin against this guy. He might live to regret accepting this fight.

Rolly Romero (16-2, 13 KO) is a surprise for Ryan’s opponent as Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz was the name he was fighting. Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout reports that a “No ffinancial agreement” could be achieved with Isaac Cruz; therefore, Rolly was recruited as Ryan Garcia’s opponent.

Cruz knocked out Rolly in the eighth round last year on March 30 in a title match. For Ryan to fight Rolly suggests he doesn’t want to take any chances of losing with him after his long 13 month layoff.

“Unfortunately for ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, there was no financial agreement. Rolly Romero stepped in. The promotion for the May fight is going to be good. We are waiting for details on Times Square or the arena where the fight will take place. will unfold the battle… 🥊🥊🥊” declared Salvador Rodriguez on Xexplaining why Isaac Cruz was not used as Ryan Garcia’s opponent.

It was a fight that fans would have been excited about, but there would have been a lot of risk for Garcia because Cruz could actually fight. Rolly has fought two of his last four fights, and some believe he would have lost a third if not for a strange stoppage in his clash against Ismael Barroso in May 2023.

This is where the referee stopped the fight unexpectedly after Rolly threw a flurry of punches, all hitting the air. He then raises Rolly’s hand in the air, giving him a knockout victory, leaving Barroso standing and saying, “What’s going on here?” It was so weird. The referee looked like he had landed on a flying saucer from a distant world and seen a fight: “Oh, let me stop him.”

Interestingly, no rematch was awarded to Barroso, which made the situation even worse for Rolly. There should have been one, because it was really bad. We had to feel sorry for Barroso because he is not young, and it was sad to see him treated like this.