Ryan Garcia returned from a doping suspension only to face a unanimous points decision defeat against Rolly Romero in a welterweight bout in New York's Times Square. This loss casts doubt on Garcia's planned rematch with Devin Haney, although Haney secured his own unanimous decision victory over Jose Ramirez in the same outdoor ring.

Romero knocked Garcia down in the second round with left hooks and maintained control throughout the fight. Two judges scored the fight 115-112 in favor of Romero, while the third judge scored it 118-109.

In April of the previous year, Garcia's victory over Haney was overturned and declared a no-contest after Garcia failed a pre-fight drug test. Additionally, Garcia was arrested in June for allegedly causing $15,000 in damages at a Beverly Hills hotel, and in July, he was suspended from World Boxing Council events for racist social media comments. A planned exhibition against kickboxing champion Rukiya Anpo was canceled due to a wrist injury Garcia sustained in training.

Romero's victory marks Garcia's second professional defeat against 24 wins, with 20 of those wins by knockout. Garcia attributed his performance to the time off, stating, "I just think that whole year (off) took a lot off my body physically, mentally. I’m just happy I made it to the ring and went 12 rounds. Hats off to Rolly … just got to go to the drawing board with my team. We’ll talk it over and see what we do next."

Haney, meanwhile, improved his record to 32-0 with a dominant victory, with scores of 119-109 from two judges and 118-110 from the third.