LAS VEGAS — Ryan Garcia finally secured the one thing that had eluded him for his professional career: a world championship.
Garcia’s first two punches in Saturday night’s fight knocked down Mario Barrios, and he cruised to a unanimous decision to capture the WBC welterweight championship. Garcia put together arguably the most complete performance of his career as the judges scored the bout 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) relied heavily on his right hand instead of his vaunted left hook to bludgeon Barrios around the ring for the duration of the fight. He surprised Barrios from the opening bell, pummeling him with a pair of right hands that sent him to the canvas.
From there, Barrios couldn’t handle the constant pressure, as Garcia landed a variety of punches to the head and body. When Barrios thought a left hook was coming, Garcia would slam an overhand right, fire the jab or sink a left hook to the body. Garcia’s variety and blistering speed forced Barrios into a shell for most of the fight, and he was unable to put together his usual high volume of punches.
“It was one of the fights where I wanted to show you my whole arsenal,” Garcia said. “I believe it was like a master class, but I should have got the knockout, to be honest. It wasn’t just a left hook. Y’all were saying watch out for my left hook the whole time, but you saw my right hand working tonight.”
During his stellar performance, Garcia injured his right hand, which probably saved Barrios from being stopped. Still, it was one of Garcia’s finest moments in his pro career, and he finally reached the lofty expectations placed on him when he turned pro a decade ago.
In the past couple of years, Garcia, 27, had gone 1-2 with a no-contest. He lost to Gervonta Davis and Rolly Romero, and suffered a significant blow to his career when his majority decision win over Devin Haney in 2024 was overturned due to a failed drug test that resulted in a yearlong suspension.
Though his star power remained intact, Garcia’s tactics in and out of the ring have been mired in controversy. He was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly causing an estimated $15,000 of damage to a Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotel room. He was expelled from the WBC a month later after repeatedly using racial slurs and disparaging Muslims on a social media livestream.
Still, Garcia was in position to challenge for a world title once the WBC reinstated him, and he took advantage of the opportunity by dissecting Barrios with ease. Although he entered the fight as the champion, Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) had gone 0-0-2 in his two previous fights, earning draws against Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos.
Though those fights were competitive, the fight with Garcia was not. Barrios couldn’t match Garcia’s speed, and failed to put together anything that would make Garcia reconsider his approach.
For Saturday’s bout, Barrios hired trainer Joe Goossen, who previously worked with Garcia. That hiring lit a fire under Garcia, who returned to the tutelage of his father after working with several trainers over the past few years. Garcia’s return to his father yielded one of his most complete performances and proved that even though Barrios had an instructor who was familiar with Garcia, it wouldn’t be enough to turn back the supremely talented fighter from Victorville, California.
“That’s the performance I expected from him,” Goosen said of Garcia. “What we needed to do more of was press a little bit more. But Mario tried his best, took his big shots early and a few in the mid rounds, but for the most part, he took everything Ryan gave him and kept on coming.”
Although Garcia let up in the final rounds, the outcome was never in doubt. Afterward, 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.
“You know who I want? He’s right there. So, Shakur Stevenson, let’s go,” Garcia said. “Hey, I want to be a great champion, and I’m not scared 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.