Rolando 'Rolly' Romero, the freshly crowned WBA junior welterweight champion, has accepted Ryan Garcia's challenge at junior welterweight.
"Okay Rollies, you asked for it. Let’s get it. This one is for Barroso," Garcia stated on social media.
The 27-year-old Romero controversially stopped top rival Ismael Barroso earlier this month to win the vacant WBA belt.
After the win, Romero called for a fight with Garcia.
"There’s only two fights I want,” Romero said. “There’s the rematch with Tank Davis. But I think there’s a much bigger option. I want to go after Ryan Garcia. We can do it on Showtime PPV.”
Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) was knocked out by Gervonta 'Tank' Davis back in April in what is currently the biggest pay-per-view fight of the year. This was Garcia's first loss in his professional career. 1.2 million people watched their event on pay-per-view.
Additionally, he cut ties with his trainer Joe Goossen and hired veteran trainer Derrick James, who presently works with Errol Spence, Jermel Charlo, Frank Martin, and Anthony Joshua.
Regarding Romero, there is still the matter of Alberto Puello, the "champion in break." Romero was originally scheduled to fight Puello, but the bout was cancelled after Puello tested positive for a prohibited drug. Later, Barroso, who was ranked first, took his spot, succeeding him. Puello's status as 'champion in break' has not been officially revoked or suspended by the WBA. It is possible that Romero will be instructed to present a defence against Puello if he manages to get out of this situation.
Romero's lone loss, which occurred last year, is likewise a knockout loss to Davis.
Garcia and Davis squared up at a catch weight of 136 pounds. Garcia made it obvious that he was upping his weight to 140 pounds after suffering his first defeat.
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