NEW YORK – Horrible.

That’s the word Ryan Garcia used to describe his subpar performance Friday night in Times Square. Garcia also admitted the way he fought against rugged underdog Rolando “Rolly” Romero in the main event of The Ring’s “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves” show was an extension of how flat he felt throughout training camp in San Diego.

The 26-year-old Garcia “couldn’t get anything going” in camp, despite that he didn’t need to lose as much weight as usual. He fought at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds for the first time in his eight-year professional career.

Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC) still felt as though something was missing and never developed a rhythm while preparing for his first fight in 53 weeks. The former WBC interim lightweight champion and his trainer, Derrick James, unsuccessfully attempted to work through that sluggishness as Garcia completed his performance enhancing drug-related suspension.

“Nothing was like progressing in any way, and I just felt weird and off,” Garcia said during his post-fight press conference. “And I would mention it to Derrick. And, you know, we were just trying to figure it out. You know, but we only had five weeks together. And, yeah, I mean, it’s just one of those things where I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what’s going on. Like I don’t why I can’t get no, you know, I guess progressive, you know, sharpness coming into camp. Like I don’t know why it’s not picking up.’ We still were confident. I mean, we still were training. It’s just nothing clicked. It’s just nothing was clicking.”

Not much clicked for Garcia once the opening bell rang Friday night, either.

Romero’s left hook sent Garcia to the canvas 14 seconds into the second round. It was a flash knockdown that didn’t truly hurt Garcia, certainly not as much as he was buzzed by Luke Campbell’s left hand midway through the second round of their January 2021 bout at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

That knockdown nevertheless made Garcia hesitant to engage over the course of the next 10-plus rounds. Romero wasn’t exactly busy, either, yet he pressed the action for much of their fight, consistently blocked Garcia’s vaunted left hook with his right glove, regularly threw jabs to Garcia’s body and made his opponent respect his power all the way until the final bell sounded.

Romero impressed judge Waleska Roldan the most. She scored 10 rounds for Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), who won 118-109 on her card.

Judges Tony Paolillo (115-112) and Tom Schreck (115-112) had it closer, though the knockdown created additional separation on their cards for Romero.

CompuBox unofficially credited Garcia for landing nine more punches overall (66-of-210 to 57-of-280). The hard-hitting Garcia, who lost on points for the first time as a pro, landed only 18-of-48 power punches according to CompuBox.

Romero connected on the same number of power shots (18-of-65), but he delivered the most consequential punch of their fight in the second round.

“It was a pretty, pretty off night,” Garcia said. “You know, Rolly did what he does. You know, throws a lotta good power shots, caught me in the second round. But just even in the start of the fight, just didn’t feel like my feet were under me, like I had anything. But, you know, I tried to fight through it and just found myself very off after the year layoff. You know, that whole year, you know, it was a lot for me mentally, as you guys know.”

Garcia fought for the first time since his majority-decision defeat of rival Devin Haney was changed to a no-contest. He also served a one-year suspension because he tested positive for Ostarine, a banned substance, after he dropped Haney three times in April 2024 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Victorville, California experienced various personal problems, including an arrest last June 8 for vandalizing a hotel suite in Beverly Hills, before he refocused on his career. He seemed calm and mature during this promotion, the complete opposite of how he behaved before he faced Haney.

“The fact that I got here and I’m in the position I am,” Garcia said, “my mind is as clear as it is, is a victory for me, I would say. But I’m extremely disappointed in the way I fought and it definitely isn’t my best in any way. But thank you guys. And I wanna thank my fans and everybody that stuck by me. You know, we took an ‘L’ today. And the people that came to watch me, you know, a lotta love is out there for me. And I think people know my heart and know that I’ll be back and better than ever.”