Teddy Atlas has delivered his verdict on Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia, insisting that the outcome should ultimately be determined by Garcia’s psychological state.
The pair will square off this Saturday at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena, with Barrios gearing up for the third defence of his WBC world title.
His last two outings both resulted in a draw, against Abel Ramos and a 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao, though the 30-year-old is nonetheless considered a solid test for Garcia.
Entering his second world title challenge, Garcia has had just one outing at 147lbs, a unanimous decision defeat to Rolando Romero in May, since moving up from super-lightweight.
Prior to that, the American claimed a majority decision victory over Devin Haney in April 2024 which, due to him testing positive for banned substance ostarine, was later over-turned to a no-contest.
Not only that, but Garcia was also handed a year-long ban by the New York State Athletic Commission, during which time he has openly admitted to ‘drinking and partying’.
As a result of such antics, many have questioned the 27-year-old’s dedication to the sport, which appeared particularly problematic throughout the build-up to his showdown with Haney.
During that time, Garcia’s erratic behaviour led many to express concern over his psychological state in general, let alone any perceived lack of application to his craft.
And those same questions, it seems, are still lingering ahead of his clash with Barrios, though Hall of Fame trainer Atlas has opined on his YouTube channel that Garcia’s relative silence could be taken as an encouraging sign.
“At this point in Barrios’ career – Garcia being younger; Garcia being faster with his hands, a little more explosive – I think that you’d favour Garcia.
“But again… is he okay, mentally? Where is he at? You’ve got to take a gamble: Is he right, mentally?
“It’s been quiet on the western front [and], if it’s quiet on the western front with Garcia, that’s good news. If there’s no noise, then maybe things are good … And if I’m going to go with that, I’m gonna say I favour Garcia. Where you’ve got to favour Barrios is you know what you’re gonna get. With Garcia, you don’t know for sure what you’re gonna get.
“At the end of the day, I’ll guess that Garcia will be together.”
Many others would likely agree with Atlas’ assessment of the situation, believing that a mentally-focused Garcia has the beating of Barrios.