Ring’s Fatal Fury “City of the Wolves”
Last night’s three-card Fatal Fury in Times Square Main Event brought to us by his Excellency Turki Alashikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment, sadly, did not live up to the “HYPE” created by the unknown and the expected excitement.
The closed-out location at Times Square, the production and the Ring, created a different scene and atmosphere that will forever be remembered but where things went left is with the performances that some of the chosen talent for the night who neglected to perform at their peak form on this historical night. Real talk!
First up on the Main Event night was WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 Kos) defending his Championship Belts against undefeated mandatory challenger Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-1, 11 Kos). Although Barboza earned his way to the mandatory position and talked a good game throughout the build-up, he quickly found out that there are levels to this boxing sh*t and on this night, Lopez produced a dominant performance that will forever haunt Barboza. Lopez outworked, outhustled, outboxed and outgunned Barboza who is a very good boxer but lacked the proper skill set and “game plan” to dethrone the Champ on the night. After 12 one-sided rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 unanimously for Teofimo Lopez. Well done!
Next up was Devin Haney (32-0, 15 Kos) and Jose Ramirez (29-3, 18 Kos) who met up at a catch weight of 144 Lbs. Haney, who talked a good game during the build-up of the bout failed miserably to capture the hearts of viewers at home and in attendance. Neither combatant pressed the action or threw enough leather to land anything significant. I expected Devin, who hadn’t fought in a year, to come out the gate pumped up and ready for some action but what we got was a shell-shocked safety-first reluctant fighter, who put the viewers and fans in attendance to sleep. Ramirez did himself no favours as well with his own lack of activity. It was a very disappointing performance by both combatants on such a big stage like this. Nevertheless, the Judges at hand called it 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110 unanimously for Devin Haney.
The final bout of the night belonged to Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 Kos) and Rolando “Rolly” Romero (17-2, 13 Kos) who met up at the Welterweight Division. With “Rolly” being counted out and labeled the underdog, he wasted no time asserting himself and pressed the action to score an impressive second-round knockdown over Garcia that changed the flow of the bout as it progressed. Garcia looked flat and disengaged, unable to pull the trigger on “Rolly” who was calm and disciplined out-boxing Garcia round by round. “Rolly” stuck with the “game plan” and executed it to a “T” and gained mad confidence round by round while Garcia neglected his corner’s instructions and urgency to let his hands go. Although neither combatant threw an abundance of leather, “Rolly” made his presence felt more than none by landing the more telling punches.
After 12 rounds of action, the Judges at hand scored it 118-109, 115-112 and 115-112 unanimously for Rolando “Rolly” Romero. You were counted out and you prevailed and silenced all the naysayers. With this impressive win under your belt, you are now the proud owner of the vacant WBA “Regular” Welterweight Championship Title. Well done Champ and enjoy this well-earned victory
Blaze