5 Burning Questions for Fatal Fury Fight Night in Times Square
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Golden Boy Promotions is bringing the bright lights to the Big Apple with Fatal Fury: Times Square, a blockbuster boxing card featuring some of the sport’s biggest young stars. With Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez all set to compete, there’s no shortage of storylines heading into fight night. Each fighter has something major on the line—whether it’s redemption, reputation, or relevance.
As anticipation builds, we breaks down the most pressing questions ahead of one of boxing’s most intriguing events of the year:
#1. Which fighter needs a win the most: Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, or Teofimo Lopez?
Lee: Devin Haney needs to win the most this weekend. The last time we saw him, he was getting thoroughly dominated by Ryan Garcia. A win gets him that rematch. A loss would mean he wasted a year of his career waiting on Garcia’s return for nothing. Although a win is expected against Jose Ramirez, Haney needs to look good in doing so. A narrow win, or a win where he takes a lot of punishment will not look good. A dominant performance is required by Devin Haney.
Evan: I think you could frankly choose all three for this answer. Ryan Garcia hasn’t fought in a year after he tested positive for ostarine following his fight with Devin Haney. Teofimo Lopez on the other hand hasn’t fought since last summer, and is coming off two uninspired title defenses against underwhelming opponents in Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett. Both have also been marred in scandals caused by their antics outside of the ring, frequently going on racist, homophobic, and Islamophobic rants.
With that being said, I’m with Lee here, it’s got to be Devin Haney. Given the beating he took from Garcia in their matchup last April, and the public backlash he’s faced for how he’s handled the fallout of it, the pressure is on Haney to deliver an impressive showing. There might not be another fighter in the sport currently who is in more desperate need of an emphatic win than him.
#2. Of the three underdogs, who has the best chance to pull off the upset win: Arnold Barboza Jr., Jose Ramirez, or Rolly Romero?
Lee: I am going with Jose Ramirez as the underdog that has the biggest chance to pull off the upset. Ramirez and his team know what punch Haney cannot defend against. Every time he has been hit with a left hook it seems to stun him. Until I see otherwise, I think he is susceptible to that shot. Not saying that Ramirez is as skilled as the other fighters that have hurt Haney with that shot. However, training and film study should help Ramirez in setting his shots up. Every fighter has a puncher’s chance.
Evan: I like Lee’s choice of Ramirez, especially with all the doubt surrounding Haney going into this event. However, this is a coin flip for me between Arnold Barboza Jr. and Rolly Romero. Teofimo Lopez has shown a propensity in his career so far to be extremely inconsistent. He’s put on virtuoso type performances against Josh Taylor and Vasiliy Lomachenko. He’s also looked lackadaisical against less talented competitors like George Kambosos Jr. and Sandor Martin. Barboza Jr. is a quality fighter who is a rangy, gritty, sound technician. If Teofimo doesn’t respect him, or fight with his full capacity, he could be in for a tougher outing than expected.
In terms of Romero, I think Rolly’s basically a glorified troll, but he’s got an unorthodox style, and can crack. Garcia was hurt badly by Luke Campbell in their fight in 2021 and dropped by a body shot from Gervonta Davis in 2023. While I believe he’s far more talented than Rolly is, the questions with his chin, durability, and year long layoff give Romero at least a puncher’s chance.
#3. How much, if at all, does boxing need a Haney-Garcia rematch?
Lee: Boxing does not need a Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia rematch. Simply put, despite Garcia testing positive for a banned substance, we can’t forget what we saw in their last fight. Garcia dominated Haney, dropping him three times and winning by a large margin on the judges’ scorecards. The only person that wants this rematch is Devin Haney. He is hoping to exact some sort of revenge after that devastating loss. Haney and Garcia have held much bitterness towards each other since their amateur days. Haney should be trying to unify belts in the junior welterweight division to add to his legacy.
Evan: I actually couldn’t disagree more with Lee. Boxing definitely needs a Haney-Garcia rematch. Claiming that Devin is the only person that wants this to happen is pretty disingenuous, an overstatement, and candidly inaccurate. This isn’t even really all that debatable in my eyes. It would easily be one of the biggest fights in the sport, and an enormous boost to the American market which has been immensely diluted by the Saudi takeover. The U.S. audience is starving for star power in the boxing game and huge events to be staged on home soil. Considering the commercial success of their first meeting, the spectacle of the pre-fight build up, the bad blood between them, and all of the controversy in the aftermath, this is a no brainer to me. There’s clearly unfinished business between these two and we need to see it settled at some point.
#4. Who has the most star power and potential between Haney, Garcia, and Lopez?
Lee: This answer is really easy for me, Ryan Garcia has the most star power. Haney in my opinion is an overrated, undefeated fighter. Teofimo Lopez could be a star… But he has a prowess to say some things that can be racist or insensitive. Garcia will always be in the mix because of his massive social media following. He is already a star who has captivated audiences with his talent and magnetic personality. In the ring, he puts on exciting fights by using his fast hand speed and above average knockout power.
Evan: Unlike the previous question, I completely agree with Lee on this one. Ryan Garcia has the most star power of the trio currently, and I’m not sure it’s even all that close. However, I do think it’s somewhat hypocritical to say Lopez’s star potential is being hurt by the insensitive, racist remarks he consistently makes, when Garcia has done the same thing in several social media rants over the past year. He was also arrested last June for destroying a hotel room in Beverly Hills, and battled substance abuse issues too. While Ryan may be flawed, he still is the biggest star of the three for much of the reasons Lee stated above. His fights with Devin Haney and Gervonta “Tank” Davis drew an impressive 1.7 million PPV buys combined and brought in $137,000,000 million in revenue.
The combination of his fighting style, personality, social media presence, and ability to connect with the younger generation have elevated him above most of his counterparts. For better or worse, fans are enthralled with Garcia. At just 26 years old, he’s proven to be a box office attraction in an era of American boxing, where there just isn’t many bonafide stars.
#5. What fight on this card are you most intrigued by and excited for?
Lee: I’m going with Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. Teofimo Lopez hasn’t fought since June of 2024. Barboza Jr. has been busy and recently defeated good opposition. Both have been winning by decision recently, meaning this fight has a chance to be a technical matchup instead of a slugfest. In his most recent bout, Barboza defeated Jose Ramirez and Jack Catterall. When Lopez is focused he is really good. But, sometimes he can get emotional and his performance can be subpar. Can Barboza take advantage of possible ring rust from Lopez?
Evan: I’m with Lee that the Lopez-Barboza Jr. fight is probably the most high stakes, technical, and evenly matched bout on the card. I’m going to go with Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero though. I just feel it’s the fight that has the best chance to produce a chaotic, entertaining, scrap, and highlight-reel KO. It definitely might end up being the most one-sided matchup on the card too. But given how their respective styles clash and sparring history, it should provide some fun fireworks before an eventual finish.
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