Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero: A rivalry forged in sparring to be finally settled in the ring

As the pair are set to meet in New York, we look back on how their partnership was formed during a heated sparring session

Ryan Garcia successfully makes weight on Thursday, unlike before his fight with Devin Haney (Getty)

Ryan Garcia and Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero have been circling each other for years.

Their rivalry bubbling beneath the surface of the boxing world.

Now, on May 2, they will finally meet under the bright lights of Times Square — a fitting stage for two fighters with unfinished business.

A Viral Beginning

Their animosity dates back to a fiery sparring session at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas, when both were rising stars under the tutelage of boxing royalty — Garcia under Oscar De La Hoya and Romero under Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The 2018 footage spread rapidly online sparking intense discussion amongst fans.

The viral clip shows the two in the midst of an intense sparring session.

Romero is in pursuit of Garcia, throwing wild shots to the head and body, making him look uncomfortable on his back foot - unable too keep 'Rolly' at range.

Garcia was able to land sharp jabs and counter shots, but it was not enough to stop the Las Vegas native from closing the distance and using his physicality to push Garcia against the ropes and unload at close range.

While the sparring was just that — it gave Romero the early bragging rights.

“I did beat the shit out of him both days,” Romero told BoxingScene. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s just sparring.”

Garcia, for his part, has been disparaging of the footage.

“We sparred about eight years ago,” he said at a recent press conference. “It was a little rough... but he continued to use that sparring to boost his career, credit to him.”

From Trash Talk to Mutual Respect

Years of jabs on social media followed, with both fighters pushing for a real fight to settle the score. In late 2023, Garcia called out Romero after a victory over Oscar Duarte, and Romero echoed the sentiment after capturing the WBA junior welterweight title, saying their bout was “a fight that everybody has been asking for forever.”

Despite the momentum the two once again diverged with Garcia choosing Haney and Romero fighting Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.

The fight only materialised when Garcia’s original opponent for the 3rd of May, ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, pulled out — and Romero picked up the phone.

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“I just made a phone call,” he said to BoxingScene. “There were no other options.”

Surprisingly, the lead-up to the fight has taken a softer turn. Behind the bravado, the pair appear to have buried the hatchet. Romero revealed that he reached out to Garcia during his public struggles with mental health — a gesture that resonated deeply.

“I DM’d Ryan and asked for his number,” Romero told BoxingScene. “He said no at first, but I told him some things are bigger than boxing. We talked and we’ve been good ever since.”

There has of course been the mandatory name calling in the build-up, with Garcia calling Romero a clout chaser and ‘Rolly’ insisting that ‘Kingry’ just wants to be a model.

Selling a fight comes as part of the package for a boxer and whilst they may throw schoolboy insults at each other, they have both made clear the respect they hold for one another as fighters.

Their clash in Times Square promises fireworks, but it’s no longer driven by hatred.

What began as a bitter feud born from sparring footage has evolved into something more nuanced — two fighters bound by mutual respect and a shared history.