World Boxing News can reveal the backup for Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero should either fighter get injured before May 2.
Abel Mendoza, who is 42-0 with 31 KOs, exclusively informed worldboxingnews.com that he is on standby for the New York clash. Mendoza made the confirmation on the day of the press conference to announce the Times Square event.
He told WBN, “I want to announce that I will be on standby just in case Ryan Garcia or Rolly Romero gets hurt during their upcoming fight in New York City. A lot of fighters have been getting hurt, and you never know, but know I’m on standby, staying ready, waiting for my shot!”
‘El Zorro’ added on the prospect of facing either, “I’d say that they’re both elite fighters. I hope they don’t take me lightly when they fight me because I will be ready.”
As confirmed by Turki Alalshikh last week, the tripleheader features two welterweight bouts and a 140 title fight. Garcia vs. Romero is joined by Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez and a WBO super lightweight mandatory bout between Teofimo Lopez and Arnold Barboza Jr.
Garcia returns from a one-year suspension from the New York Commission for ostarine that expires in April. If he beats Rolando Romero, a rematch with Haney is on for the fall as part of Riyadh Season’s kick-off. Their last fight ended with Garcia knocking Haney down multiple times and scoring a decisive victory before testing positive.
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya is sure Garcia will repeat the triumph on May 2nd.
Regarding Mendoza, his potential appearance adds intrigue. His 42-0 record has courted controversy since WBN posted an article about the fighter earlier this year.
Mendoza has since faced criticism from Floyd Mayweather prospects, old and new in J’hon Ingram and Curmel Moton. They pointed to a lack of big names on the 29-year-old’s record despite the fact he’s only nine wins from overtaking Mayweather’s 50-0 record.
Answering his critics to WBN, Mendoza said he’s not focused on beating Mayweather’s benchmark.
“People criticize for anything, but when I prove them wrong, they’ll find something else to criticize me for,” he pointed out before responding to ex-Mayweather fighter J’hon Ingram publicly calling him a ‘bum’ on social media.
“I’ve been called out so many times by so many different fighters, but I need to fight someone who is a top-rated contender, not someone who has never even fought eight rounds. Hopefully, my team has a good strategy to negotiate those fights.
“If it were up to me, it would be this year! I love to fight and would fight every day if possible,” said Mendoza.
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010.
