Former Interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia will light up the night sky in Times Square on May 2nd next month with his fight against former WBA super lightweight champion Rolly Romero. In the meantime, his idol/former gymmate Canelo Alvarez has chimed in with a prediction for the upcoming night of action. 

In the good old days (October 2018 to early 2022), ‘Cinnamon’ and Garcia trained together under the watchful eye of trainer Eddy Reynoso at Reynoso’s gym in San Diego, California. Despite achieving several notable wins during this time, the trio split when Garcia left the camp in February 2022, claiming there was a lack of focus and attention from Reynoso. 

It was during this time that Garcia suffered his first career loss to WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis. While he managed to bounce back with the help of trainer Derrick James for the Oscar Duarte and Devin Haney fights, Garcia seems to have felt that going back to Reynoso’s camp will help him win his upcoming fight against Romero. 

Earlier this year, updates revealed that Garcia had once again joined forces with Canelo and Reynoso, but circumstances made it impossible to work together. You see, while Garcia is fighting Romero on May 2nd, Reynoso’s star pupil Canelo Alvarez is fighting IBF super middleweight champion William Scull on May 3rd in Riyadh.

This scheduling/logistical issue made Garcia’s training under Reynoso impossible, and Canelo was forced to part ways with Garcia again. Regardless, initially, the Victorville native claimed that he would be training with his father, Henry Garcia, and brother, Sean Garcia, but later reports revealed he had once again joined forces with Derrick James.

Amid the flurry of coaching changes, Canelo Alvarez has shared his prediction for Garcia’s first fight since he came out of his suspension for testing positive for Ostarine during the Devin Haney fight. “He is gonna win… He is gonna win by knockout,” Canelo told Fight Hub TV. While Garcia acquired backing from Canelo, Romero has made a bold statement. 

Rolly Romero doesn’t fear the power of Ryan Garcia

Rolly Romero isn’t losing sleep over Ryan Garcia’s power ahead of their welterweight clash in Times Square. Despite acknowledging that Ryan “can crack,” Romero insists that nothing compares to the punishment he took from Ismael Barroso. “Hell, no! Not even close,” Romero told The Ring. “That dude, Barroso, that was the hardest hitter I’ve ever been in the ring with, by far.” 

Reflecting on their 2023 bout, Romero said, “That dude had cinderblocks in his hands, bro… I’ll be sleeping sometimes and I wake up and I see his face, and I just laugh.” Romero was knocked down in that fight but rallied to win in controversial fashion. He credits Barroso’s relentless pressure and veteran tricks for making it such a tough night. 

Still, Romero believes he would’ve finished the fight cleanly. “There was no way he made it out [of the ninth round],” he added. Against Garcia, Romero feels far less threatened.

Having said that, even though Ryan Garcia and Canelo Alvarez are confident ‘King Ry’ will get his hand raised after the final bell, Rolly Romero doesn’t seem short on confidence either. Only time will tell whose prediction will come true. But who do have winning this fight?