Garcia has been persistent in saying that he hopes to step into the ring with Shakur Stevenson and doubled down again on wanting to face the pound-for-pound talent should he beat Barrios. The 27-year-old contender from Victorville, California, will battle Barrios for his WBC welterweight title in the main event of “The Ring: High Stakes” at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I’ve been waiting for that rematch since I was in the amateurs,” Garcia told The Ring. “I beat him for sure. He knows when he’s in the ring with me, it ain’t gonna be like what he does to these other guys. I got the same fast twitch. I have the same eye movements. He’s never fought a fighter as quick as him in every way, so we got to see what he could do with me.”

Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), who became The Ring and WBO 140-pound champion and a four-division titleholder when he dominated Teofimo Lopez on January 31 at Madison Square Garden, was quick to respond on X about a potential fight against Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs, 1 NC). The slick southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, is No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.

“I love when the tables turn,” Stevenson wrote on X. “Set it up, though, so I can show you why I’m different. All that talk sounds great.”

Garcia first must rebound from his unanimous-decision defeat to Rolando “Rolly” Romero on May 2 in the main event of The Ring’s card at Times Square in New York. His last win came in December 2023, when he defeated 140-pound title contender Oscar Duarte by eighth-round knockout.

Garcia will fight for the second time at the welterweight limit when he boxes Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs), a San Antonio native who will make his third title defense since the WBC elevated him from interim champion.

“Everything was done right,” Garcia said of his preparation for the Barrios bout. “Diet was done right. Everything is just on point. Now it’s just waiting for the fight.”

DAZN will distribute “The Ring: High Stakes” to non-subscribers on pay-per-view for $69.99 in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom. The show is included in DAZN’s Ultimate monthly plan for subscribers ($44.99; £24.99).