Common Goal: Garcia v Romero & Haney v Ramirez Predictions

The uber-popular Garcia makes his return against Rolando Romero, while Haney steps back into the ring against Jose Ramirez. The goal for two of the sport’s biggest names is clear – win to set up the much-anticipated rematch between them.

Ryan Garcia (1.10) v Rolando Romero (7.00)

When: 4 AM Saturday SA time

With the card designed to set up a rematch between Garcia and Haney, let’s go back to their initial battle last April. The blockbuster bout saw Garcia score several knockdowns before earning a decision victory but the result was eventually overturned to a no-contest when the 26-year-old tested positive for a banned substance.

As a result, Garcia’s win was wiped away and he was forced to sit out for one year as punishment from the New York Athletic Commission. “King Ryan” returns with a vengeance and is hungry to make up for lost time and punch his ticket to a sequel with his arch-rival.

They say speed kills and that’s certainly the case when it comes to the lightning-fast Garcia, who sports a splendid record of 24-1-1 with 20 knockouts, with his only defeat coming against Gervonta Davis in their catchweight super fight in 2023. He’s a blur inside the squared circle with his fast feet and even faster hands and is blessed with the best left hook in all of boxing.

As much as the focus is on him and Haney, they cannot afford to overlook their opponents. Standing across the ring from Garcia will be Romero, whose record is a solid one of 16-2 with 13 knockouts. However, he’s alternated wins and losses over his past five outings.

“Rolly” carried a 14-0 record into his fight against WBA lightweight champion Davis, but lost the 2022 contest via sixth-round TKO. He bounced back by winning the vacant WBA super lightweight belt with a TKO victory over Ismael Barroso the following year only to drop the belt to Isaac Cruz via eighth-round TKO. In his most recent outing, he defeated Manuel Jaimes by decision last September.

Ultimately, Romero doesn’t have the skill, speed or chin to stand up to Garcia, who has a two-inch reach advantage to boot. Bank on Garcia to send the fans home happy.

Prediction: Garcia by knockout.
Best Bet: Under 7.5 rounds at 1.66.

Devin Haney (1.08) v Jose Ramirez (8.00)

When: 3 AM Saturday SA time

With his controversial first meeting with Garcia also being his last fight, Haney is perhaps even more determined than his rival to prove a point this weekend.

Given the fact that the loss was overturned to a no-contest, Haney is still technically undefeated at 31-0-1 with 15 knockouts. However, he’s been left with a bad taste in his mouth and this clash against Ramirez is set up to be a pallet cleanser.

Make no mistake, though. Ramirez is a credible opponent. Like Haney, he’s a former lightweight champion and is happy to make the move up to welterweight after dropping his last fight by decision to Arnold Barboza Jr, which took his record to 29-2 with 18 knockouts.

For Haney, the youngest undisputed world champion in history and the first undisputed lightweight world champion in the modern four-belt era, this fight is about re-establishing his defence, in other words, plugging the holes that saw him being dropped three times by Garcia.

For Ramirez, who happens to be a pressure fighter, it’s about creating doubts that hopefully lead to openings. He fights with an active high guard and does a lot of level changes, which have generally worked for him, but I don’t see it getting the job done against a truly elite boxer like Haney.

That’s because the active high guard leaves holes down the flanks and middle for a sniper like “The Dream” to exploit. With plenty of open real estate, expect Haney to pick him apart with his excellent jab en route to a commanding decision victory.

Prediction: Haney by decision.
Best Bet: Haney by decision at 1.25.