6 hrs ago
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Mario Barrios didn’t have momentum on his side, but his self-belief was unwavering heading into his fight against Ryan Garcia.
Barrios believed Garcia was predictable and somewhat tailor-made for him. However, those thoughts diminished just 30 seconds into the first round on Saturday night.
Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) caught Barrios with a right hand that dropped Barrios in the opener and while the Texan fought hard for the remaining 11 rounds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, his success was few and far between.
Garcia ultimately won a dominant unanimous decision and picked up the WBC welterweight title. Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) took the time to look back on what went wrong this past Saturday night.
“I was caught early with a shot I didn’t see,” Barrios said at the post-fight press conference. “Other than that, he came in there with the better game plan. He boxed very smart, very explosive, and very intelligent. It was his night.”
Although Garcia was viewed as a heavy favorite, some questioned whether or not he could get it done. The 27-year-old was coming off a listless performance against Rolando “Rolly” Romero on The Ring's Times Square show last May.
Ultimately, though, he placed that behind him and shined brightly on the DAZN-streamed pay-per-view. Fittingly titled “The Ring: High Stakes,” there was a lot on the line for Garcia.
Now the popular star has said he wants to get in the ring with the likes of Shakur Stevenson, Conor Benn, and several others.
As for Barrios, he has a long rebuilding process ahead of him. He hasn’t picked a win since May 2024 against Fabian Maidana, suffering back-to-back draws to Abel Ramos and Manny Pacquiao.
The first step for him restoring his name is already taking place. He’s accepted that Garcia was the better fighter. What gets under his skin, nevertheless, is that he knew how talented Garcia was, but was simply unable to do anything to stop him.
“I knew he had the boxing ability,” Barrios continued. “He fought a very smart, sticking and moving.”
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