Ryan Garcia: ryan garcia beats Mario Barrios and becomes new WBC welterweight champion
ryan garcia won the WBC welterweight title after a dominant unanimous decision over Mario Barrios, sealing his first major world championship. The 27-year-old American dropped Barrios inside the opening 30 seconds and controlled all 12 rounds to claim the belt.
Fight details and scorecards
Garcia, a former interim lightweight champion, opened the fight in Las Vegas by knocking down his fellow American with a right hand during the first 30 seconds of the opening round at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. He finished the night in control across 12 rounds, with the judges scoring the bout 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109 in his favour.
Ryan Garcia's ringside callouts
In his post-fight interview, Garcia called out newly crowned WBO super-lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, who was in attendance. "You know who I want, he's right there, " Garcia said, adding: "Shakur Stevenson, let's go!" Stevenson, 28, smiled, nodded his head and clapped as Garcia continued: "I want to be a great champion, I'm not scared. I fought Devin Haney. I'll fight you, Shakur Stevenson. I'll fight anybody. "
When he was told that Stevenson had said he was "levels above" him right now, Garcia replied: "You've got to have some type of punching power to get me off you, because it'll just be a different style - and I'm not going to hit him light. "
Post-fight reaction and injury update
Garcia described aspects of his performance in direct terms. He said: "I hurt him multiple times, but like I said, he's a tough son of a b***h. " He dedicated the victory to his father, calling his faith important: "It feels great, man, but it feels better to be a child of God, to be honest. I dedicate this to my dad, though. " He then gave the belt to his father, his head coach.
On the subject of finishing Barrios, Garcia said: "I wanted to show my full arsenal. I believe it was a kind of masterclass, but I should've got the finish. But I hurt my right hand. " He also called Barrios "a tough warrior, a fellow Mexican-American. "
Record, past setbacks and ban
The win improves Garcia's record to 25 victories and two defeats and hands him his first full world title. He has sealed 20 of his 25 victories by knockout. The victory was the first for Garcia since a shock points loss to Rolando Romero last year.
Garcia had previously been given a one-year ban after failing a drugs test in 2024 following his fight with Devin Haney; that victory was overturned and recorded as a "no contest. " The failed test was for the banned substance ostarine following the Haney no-contest in April 2024.
After the ban, Garcia returned to challenge Rolando Romero for the WBA (regular) welterweight title in May at Times Square, losing a decision. He said he sustained a hand injury going into the Romero bout and required surgery afterward, which kept him out for another nine months and left him with just one bout in the previous 22 months.
Barrios' recent history and style
Mario Barrios had been upgraded from interim to full WBC champion in June 2024 and entered the fight on the back of two recent draws. He had made two previous successful defences draws, including retaining his title with a majority draw against a then 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao last summer. He also drew with Abel Ramos and, in separate notes from the build-up, was said to have drawn with a 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao in the recent run-up to this fight. Barrios drew with Ramos in November of that year and drew with Pacquiao in July.
Pre-fight commentary had flagged both men as tall welterweights who could keep the fight at long range. Barrios was described as slow and not a puncher by those assessments, with his body work and jab noted as keys to his success. Barrios had previously fought Gervonta "Tank" Davis in 2021 and was taken out in the 11th round of their 140-pound title bout.
Output and pugilistic history
Garcia's recent fights had also attracted scrutiny for low punch output. His fight with Romero was recorded as the third-lowest combined punch output for a 12-round fight, with 490 combined punches in CompuBox's 40-year history. His fight with Haney had set the record for the third-fewest punches thrown in a 12-round fight at the time, with 499 punches. Observers had expected the Garcia–Barrios fight to be another low-output encounter.
Garcia had been stopped in the seventh round by Gervonta "Tank" Davis in April 2023, a loss noted for body damage sustained. Barrios' loss to Davis in 2021 by 11th-round stoppage and Garcia's prior stoppage defeat were part of the fighters' shared history of being hittable and being hurt in the body.
Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas delivered a decisive result: ryan garcia is the new WBC welterweight champion, the undefeated knockout totals and a string of pre-fight storylines now folded into his first full world title.
Closing: Garcia dethroned Barrios by unanimous decision (119-108, 120-107, 118-109), claimed the WBC welterweight belt and set up the possibility of future matchups against fighters he named in the ring.
