Ryan Garcia wrestles Mario Barrios’ WBC title in one-sided win

LAS VEGAS — Ryan Garcia lastly secured the one factor that had eluded him for his skilled profession: a world championship.

Garcia’s first two punches in Saturday evening’s combat knocked down Mario Barrios, and he cruised to a unanimous determination to seize the WBC welterweight championship. Garcia put collectively arguably probably the most full efficiency of his profession because the judges scored the bout 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109.

Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) relied closely on his proper hand as an alternative of his vaunted left hook to bludgeon Barrios across the ring at some point of the combat. He stunned Barrios from the opening bell, pummeling him with a pair of proper fingers that despatched him to the canvas.

From there, Barrios could not deal with the fixed stress, as Garcia landed a wide range of punches to the pinnacle and physique. When Barrios thought a left hook was coming, Garcia would slam an overhand proper, fireplace the jab or sink a left hook to the physique. Garcia’s selection and blistering pace compelled Barrios right into a shell for a lot of the combat, and he was unable to place collectively his traditional excessive quantity of punches.

“It was one of the fights where I wanted to show you my entire arsenal,” Garcia mentioned. “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 efficiency, Garcia injured his proper hand, which in all probability saved Barrios from being stopped. Still, it was one among Garcia’s best moments in his professional profession, and he lastly reached the lofty expectations positioned on him when he turned professional a decade in the past.

In the previous couple of years, Garcia, 27, had gone 1-2 with a no-contest. He misplaced Gervonta Davis and Rolly Romero, and suffered a major blow to his profession when his majority determination win over Devin Haney in 2024 was overturned as a consequence of a failed drug check that resulted in a yearlong suspension.

Although his star energy remained intact, Garcia’s techniques in and out of the ring have been mired in controversy. He was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly inflicting an estimated $15,000 of injury to a Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills lodge room. He was expelled from the WBC a month later after repeatedly utilizing racial slurs and disparaging Muslims on a social media livestream.

Still, Garcia was in place to problem for a world title as soon as the WBC reinstated him, and he took benefit of the chance by dissecting Barrios with ease. Although he entered the combat because the champion, Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) had gone 0-0-2 in his two earlier fights, incomes attracts towards Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos.

Although these fights had been aggressive, the combat with Garcia was not. Barrios could not match Garcia’s pace, and did not put collectively something that will make Garcia rethink his method.

For Saturday’s bout, Barrios employed coach Joe Goossen, who beforehand labored with Garcia. That hiring lit a hearth below Garcia, who returned to the tutelage of his father after working with a number of trainers over the previous few years. Garcia’s return to his father yielded one among his most full performances and proved that despite the fact that Barrios had an teacher who was acquainted with Garcia, it would not be sufficient to show again the supremely proficient fighter from Victorville, California.

“That’s the performance I expected from him,” Goosen mentioned 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 ultimate rounds, the result was by no means in doubt. Afterward, he mentioned he needed to face WBO 140-pound champion Shakur Stevenson, a bout that will be one of many greatest fights of the yr.

“You know who I want? He’s right there. So, Shakur Stevenson, let’s go,” Garcia mentioned. “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 vibrant for Garcia, who can have loads of choices for his first title protection.