That pursuit has led them to each other, as they prepare to clash in the main event of "The Ring: High Stakes".

Barrios will defend his WBC welterweight title against Garcia on February 21 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, live on DAZN. Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) versus Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) headlines a card that includes a pair of 140-pound world title bouts, with IBF champion Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) facing Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs), and WBA titleholder Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) making his long-awaited first title defense against Andy Hiraoka (24-0, 19 KOs).

Barrios, 30, of San Antonio, Texas, will be defending his title for the third time after fighting to a split and majority draw in his last two title defenses. The latter of those two came against Hall of Famer and eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao last July.

Barrios won the interim WBC title with a unanimous decision win over Yordenis Ugas in 2023. After defending the belt once with a unanimous decision over Fabian Maidana, he was elevated to full champion.

Garcia, 27, of Victorville, California, is coming off an upset unanimous decision defeat to Rolando “Rolly” Romero on The Ring's Times Square card. Garcia’s last win came in 2023, when he beat Duarte by eighth-round knockout.

Garcia was previously set to have his first world title shot against then-WBC 140-pound champion Devin Haney, but he missed weight by over three pounds, making him ineligible to win the title. The bout ended in a no-contest after Garcia failed multiple drug tests for the performance-enhancing drug Ostarine. The result was overturned after three-knockdown majority decision win.

Odds: Garcia is a clear favorite at -225 odds, while Barrios is the underdog at +175, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. DraftKings has Garcia’s most likely path to victory coming via knockout or stoppage at +140, while Barrios’ is by decision with +320 odds.

How does Barrios win? Barrios is at his best when he’s letting his hands go and working behind his jab.

The best way to negate Garcia’s advantages in speed and power is by keeping him at range and on the defensive. Barrios’ jab is one of his best weapons, and it was vital to earning the best win of his career against Ugas. Barrios dropped Ugas twice, with one of the knockdowns coming from a well-timed jab.

Barrios landed 193 of 810 punches, and of his punches landed, 107 were jabs. Barrios left little doubt that he pulled off the upset due to a strong second half, where he landed 131 punches compared to 39 for Ugas.

Attacking the body will also be vital to slowing Garcia down. Barrios is a solid body puncher when he commits to it, and should have gone downstairs more against Pacquiao, given how he appeared visibly affected on multiple occasions from body shots.

Defensively, Barrios needs to have an answer for Garcia’s lightning-quick left hook. If he doesn’t, it could be a quick night. In Garcia’s two losses, Gervonta Davis and Romero made sure they were always in position to block or avoid the left hook.

Above all, though, Barrios needs to be much more assertive compared to how he fought against Pacquiao. If he’s just going to coast and let Garcia stay in the fight, that could spell disaster. But if Barrios can set the tone early, he’ll be well-positioned to control the fight and successfully defend his title with a win for the first time.

How does Garcia win? Garcia’s left hook and hand speed make for a potent combo, and if he’s going to dethrone Barrios, both will need to factor heavily into the fight.

He can’t afford to just come out and throw his left hook in hopes that it’ll find the target. Garcia has to set it up if he's going to find the mark.

Garcia needs to use his feints to set up his offense. His hand speed could leave openings to be exploited. The jab to the body could be a particularly useful weapon to set up a feint to the body before throwing a left hook upstairs.

Garcia also needs Barrios to respect his right hand. Whether it’s trying to counter Barrios’ jab with it or throwing it in combinations, or to the body, the threat of the right hand could open things up for the rest of Garcia’s offense.

If Garcia establishes his right hand and gets Barrios to react to his feints, he’ll have a much better chance of landing his left hook to the head or the body. In the best win of his career, Garcia stopped former Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell in the seventh round with a left hook to the body in 2021.

There's no telling what version of Garcia is going to show up, but if he can put up a more varied performance than he did against Romero, then he'll have a good chance at beating Barrios.

What it means if Barrios wins: It’d be Barrios' first win three fights into his reign as a world champion. Beyond that, how he wins and the version of Garcia he beats will be vital to what the boxing world is saying on Sunday.

If Barrios earns a tough win against a Garcia that was at his best, it’ll earn him much more respect compared to what he currently gets from many boxing pundits. But if he beats a version of Garcia that was similar to the one who lost to Romero, then Barrios likely won’t get much credit.

Regardless, a win over a dangerous opponent in his prime should more than suffice for Barrios and earn him more respect.

What it means if Garcia wins: A win over Barrios would easily be the best and most important of Garcia’s career, as he’d be a world champion for the first time in his career.

It’d also set up numerous intriguing matchups in a 147-pound division that’s desperate for them. Chief among the possibilities would be a unification bout against Haney (33-0, 15 KOs), who is the WBO welterweight champion.

A potential bout between Garcia and Conor Benn would have an explosive build-up that could culminate in an exciting clash. Either way, Garcia has to put together one of his best performances against Barrios if either fight is going to be on the table later this year.

What they’re saying: “I gotta go grab that title. I’m hungry, I’m excited, and I’m ready to put on a show. For me, it’s all a show. I want to put on the best show possible, and you guys are going to get a great fight. This guy isn’t going to lay down, and I've got to be more careful with him. If I’m sleeping, he’ll beat my ass. Right now, I’m super locked in and you’re going to see the best version of myself that you’ve ever seen.” - Garcia

“He's definitely a character and has the personality of an influencer, but he's still a dangerous fighter," Barrios said afterward. "I'm getting ready for a Ryan that we know and think is going to be a 100 percent. Regardless of all the bull---- he has going on, he's still one of the biggest names in the sport, and I want to bring the biggest fights to the fans. He's saying he's 100 percent ready, and that's exactly what we want." - Barrios

TV/Stream: 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).