Ryan Garcia wrests Mario Barrios’ WBC title in one-sided win

LAS VEGAS–Ryan Garcia finally achieved the thing that eluded him throughout his professional career: a world championship.

Garcia’s first two punches of Saturday night’s fight knocked down Mario Barrios, and he reached a unanimous decision to capture the WBC welterweight championship. Garcia delivered arguably the most complete performance of his career as the judges scored the fight 119–108, 120–107, and 118–109.

Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) relied heavily on his right hand rather than his left hook to take Barrios around the ring for the duration of the fight. He surprised Barrios from the opening bell, nailing him with a pair of right hands that dropped him to the canvas.

From there, Barrios was unable to withstand the continued pressure, as Garcia landed a series of punches to the head and body. When Barrios felt a left hook coming, Garcia would throw an overhand right, fire a jab or land a left hook to the body. Garcia’s variation and tremendous speed forced Barrios out for most of the fight, and he was unable to string together his usual high volume of punches.

“It was one of those fights where I wanted to show you my whole arsenal,” Garcia said. “I believe it was like a master class, but honestly I should have got the knockout. It wasn’t just the left hook. You were all saying watch my left hook the whole time, but you saw my right hand working tonight.”

Garcia suffered an injury to his right hand during his spectacular performance, which may have saved Barrios from being stopped. Nevertheless, it was one of the best moments in Garcia’s professional career, and he finally lived up to the high expectations placed on him when he turned professional a decade ago.

Over the past few years, the 27-year-old Garcia had gone 1-2 with no contests. He lost to Gervonta Davis and Rollie Romero, and his career suffered a significant setback when his majority decision win over Devin Haney in 2024 was overturned due to a failed drug test that resulted in a one-year suspension.

Although his star power remained intact, Garcia’s tactics in and out of the ring were surrounded by controversy. He was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly causing $15,000 in damage to a room at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotel. He was expelled from the WBC a month later after repeatedly using racial slurs and insulting Muslims on social media livestreams.

Nevertheless, Garcia was in a position to challenge for the world title after being reinstated by the WBC, and he took advantage of the opportunity by easily dispatching Barrios. Although he entered the fight as the champion, Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) had gone 0-0-2 in his previous two fights, earning draws against Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos.

Although those fights were competitive, the fight with Garcia was not. Barrios could not match Garcia’s pace, and failed to do anything that would make Garcia reconsider his approach.

For Saturday’s fight, Barrios hired trainer Joe Goossen, who previously worked with Garcia. That appointment lit a fire in the mind of Garcia, who returned under his father’s tutelage after working with several coaches over the years. Garcia’s return to his father produced one of his most complete performances and proved that even though Barrios had a trainer who was familiar with Garcia, it would not be enough to turn back the supremely talented fighter from Victorville, California.

“This is the performance I expected from him,” Goosen said of Garcia. “What we needed to do was apply a little more pressure. But Mario tried his best, took his big shots early and some in the middle rounds, but for the most part, he took everything Ryan gave him and kept coming.”

Although Garcia conceded defeat in the final round, the outcome was never in doubt. Afterwards, he said he wanted to face WBO 140-pound champion Shakur Stevenson, a bout that would be one of the biggest fights of the year.

Garcia said, “You know who I want? He’s right there. So, Shakur Stevenson, let’s go.” “Hey, I want to be a great champion, and I’m not afraid of s—. I fought Devin Haney. I’ll fight Shakur Stevenson. I’ll fight anybody.”

The future is bright for Garcia, who will have plenty of options for his first title defense.