Garcia, Haney, Lopez Lead Historic Times Square Fight Night
On May 2, 2025, a boxing ring went up in Times Square for The Ring’s “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” card, a three-fight showcase built around Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez. The event paired a high-profile welterweight main event with two championship bouts. The results changed the story the card had been designed to tell: Rolando “Rolly” Romero upset Garcia, Haney beat Jose Ramirez, and Lopez retained his junior-welterweight titles against Arnold Barboza Jr.
A Times Square card with three featured bouts
The Ring announced the card on February 28, 2025, and billed the setting as the first time Times Square would become a world-class boxing venue. The event, presented with SNK and connected to the “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” game, was scheduled as a May 2 outdoor card and shown on pay-per-view. The announced main-card order opened with Lopez versus Barboza, continued with Haney versus Ramirez, and ended with Garcia versus Romero. The Ring’s announcement described the pairings and the event’s format. It also explained the interest in the matchups: Lopez was defending The Ring and WBO junior-welterweight belts, while Haney and Garcia were both returning after the disputed result of their 2024 meeting.
Romero changed the main-event plans
Romero won the 12-round main event by unanimous decision. He dropped Garcia with a left hook early in round two, and the knockdown helped set the tone for a bout in which Romero stayed composed while Garcia struggled to build sustained offense. The judges scored it 115–112, 115–112, and 118–109 for Romero. The Ring’s post-fight report recorded the knockdown, decision, and scorecards. Garcia had been returning after a one-year suspension; his 2024 victory over Haney had been changed to a no contest after a positive test for Ostarine, and the New York State Athletic Commission suspended him for a year. The same report noted that the loss complicated the anticipated Garcia–Haney rematch, which had been part of the promotional backdrop for the night.
Haney and Lopez won by decision
Haney defeated Ramirez by unanimous decision in the co-feature. The judges’ scores were 119–109, 119–109, and 118–110. The fight was a cautious, low-output contest rather than the high-action matchup suggested by the preview, and Haney controlled enough of the rounds to earn a clear decision. MMA Fighting’s report documented the decision and scorecards. Haney’s result kept his side of the potential rematch conversation alive, though Romero’s upset meant the main event did not deliver the Garcia win that had been expected to set up that next bout.
Lopez opened the featured trio by outpointing Barboza over 12 rounds. All three judges favored Lopez, 116–112, 116–112, and 118–110, and he retained both The Ring and WBO junior-welterweight championships. Barboza entered with an unbeaten record, so the result gave Lopez a decisive win over a contender who had recently beaten former titleholder Jose Ramirez and Jack Catterall. The Ring’s bout report provides the official decision, scores, and title context.
What the results meant
The card’s biggest consequence was the contrast between promotion and outcome. Garcia and Haney had been presented as rivals moving toward a possible rematch, but Romero’s victory disrupted that plan and made him the night’s central figure. Haney still recorded a win, and Lopez delivered the most straightforward title defense of the three featured bouts. Together, the decisions gave the event a clear sporting narrative beyond its unusual location: Romero produced an upset, Haney returned to the win column, and Lopez maintained his position at 140 pounds.
Times Square supplied a striking backdrop, but the bouts themselves determined the lasting significance of the card. The card brought championship boxing into one of New York’s busiest public spaces and drew attention well beyond the sport’s regular audience. Its most durable result was not simply the novelty of an outdoor ring: Romero’s win over Garcia changed the expected matchup plans, while Haney and Lopez left with decision victories. The event therefore joined spectacle with meaningful division-level consequences for three prominent fighters.
How the fighters’ paths changed afterward
Later results gave the Times Square card a longer afterlife. Teofimo Lopez lost his junior-welterweight title to Shakur Stevenson by unanimous decision in January 2026, then moved up and defeated Romero by majority decision on August 22 to win the WBA welterweight title. Reuters reported the Stevenson result, while Premier Boxing Champions’ official bout page records Lopez’s later win over Romero. Haney’s next title opportunity remained unsettled after Keyshawn Davis withdrew from their WBO-ordered welterweight bout; Reuters reported that Haney’s most recent fight at that point was a May victory over Nahir Albright. The report covered the withdrawal and Haney’s status. Garcia also returned to the championship picture, stopping Conor Benn in September 2026 to retain his WBC welterweight title, according to the official event results. Romero’s upset in Times Square thus marked a turning point for the three featured fighters, while their later bouts continued to reshape the division.
Sources
Tags: Boxing, Combat Sports
