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Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney now have opponents set for the interim bouts that are expected to set up their rematch – and the May 2025 show will be bolstered by a bout between a pair of heavyweight contenders.
The show will be promoted under the “Ring Magazine” banner, separate from Alalshikh’s work featuring fights as part of Riyadh Season. Alalshikh recently purchased the storied publication.
Also on the card is Martin Bakole vs. Efe Ajagba in a heavyweight eliminator.
“Further details about venue and exact date will be announced later,” Alalshikh posted on social media.
Garcia, 24-1 (20 KOs), hasn’t fought since his April 2024 bout with Haney, a majority decision victory that was changed to a no-decision after Garcia tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug called ostarine. Garcia’s one-year suspension, handed down by the New York State Athletic Commission, will end on April 20, 2025. He planned to take part in an exhibition bout in Japan in late December but pulled out with a wrist injury.
Garcia had initially suggested he might face Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in his comeback bout, and Cruz’s team confirmed that they were in talks. Instead of Cruz, Garcia will face Romero, the man Cruz beat to win the WBA junior welterweight title last year. (Cruz went on to drop the belt to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela.)
Romero, 16-2 (13 KOs), returned to the ring in September, winning a unanimous decision over Manuel Jaimes. His other loss came in a sixth-round technical knockout to Gervonta Davis in 2022.
Haney, 31-0 (15 KOs), hasn’t stepped back between the ropes since the Garcia fight. Haney initially remained the WBC junior welterweight titleholder given that Garcia had come in overweight, but he subsequently vacated the belt and has instead been named the sanctioning body’s “champion in recess.”
Ramirez, 29-2 (18 KOs), once held two world titles himself but lost them to Josh Taylor in a fight for the undisputed junior welterweight championship in May 2021. Ramirez put together three straight victories before dropping a unanimous decision to Arnold Barboza this past November.
Bakole-Ajagba is an elimination bout for the IBF heavyweight title currently held by Daniel Dubois, who is due to defend against Joseph Parker on February 22.
Bakole, 21-1 (16 KOs), has won 10 consecutive fights since getting stopped by Michael Hunter in the 10th and final round of their 2018 match. Along the way, Bakole gave Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka his first professional defeat and, most recently, provided Jared Anderson with his first blemish, breaking down the American prospect en route to a fifth-round stoppage in August.
Ajagba, 20-1 (14 KOs), lost a unanimous decision to Frank Sanchez in 2021 but has notched five victories since. He defeated two unbeaten foes, Stephan Shaw (by decision) and Zhan Kossobutskiy (by disqualification), stopped the 10-1-1 Joseph Goodall in four rounds and then edged Guido Vianello via split decision last April.
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