Dazn: Ryan Garcia wrests Mario Barrios' WBC title in one-sided win
dazn audiences witnessed a decisive shift in the welterweight landscape in Las Vegas when Ryan Garcia finally secured a world championship, knocking down Mario Barrios with his first two punches and cruising to a unanimous decision to capture the WBC welterweight title.
How the fight unfolded
Garcia opened the bout by surprising Mario Barrios with a pair of right hands that sent Barrios to the canvas. From that point Garcia maintained constant pressure, landing a variety of punches to the head and body. When Barrios seemed to anticipate a left hook, Garcia countered with overhand rights, jabs or left hooks to the body, exploiting variety and speed to force Barrios into a protective shell and prevent his usual high-volume attack.
Scorecard, injury and outcome
The judges returned a unanimous decision in Garcia's favor, with scores of 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109. During the performance Garcia injured his right hand; that injury likely prevented a stoppage even as the fight was otherwise one of his most complete. The victory awarded Garcia the WBC welterweight championship.
Ryan Garcia's record, form and controversies
Garcia entered the ring with a professional record of 25-2 and 20 knockouts. In the past couple of years Garcia, 27, had gone 1-2 with a no-contest. He lost to Gervonta Davis and Rolly Romero, and his majority decision win over Devin Haney in 2024 was overturned after a failed drug test that led to a yearlong suspension for the banned substance ostarine. Following the suspension he returned to challenge Romero for the WBA (regular) welterweight title this past May at Times Square and lost a decision. Garcia also said he sustained a hand injury before the Romero bout, required surgery afterward, was out of the ring for nine months and had recorded just one bout in the preceding 22 months.
Outside the ring, Garcia's tactics and behavior have been controversial. He was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly causing an estimated $15, 000 of damage to a Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotel room and was expelled from the WBC a month later after repeatedly using racial slurs and disparaging Muslims on a social media livestream. He was later reinstated by the WBC and moved back into position to challenge for a world title.
Mario Barrios' status and recent history
Mario Barrios entered the fight as the WBC champion with a record of 29-3-2 and 18 knockouts, but he had gone 0-0-2 in his two previous fights, drawing with Abel Ramos and a 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao. Barrios had been upgraded from interim to full WBC champion in 2024 and fought twice since that upgrade, with the draws occurring in November of that year and in July. Those earlier fights were competitive, but the bout with Garcia was not: Barrios could not match Garcia's speed and failed to mount sustained offense.
For this Saturday bout Barrios hired trainer Joe Goossen, who previously worked with Garcia. Goossen said it was the performance he expected from Garcia and noted they needed to press more; the remainder of his comment is unclear in the provided context.
Dazn aftermath: what the win changes
The result hands Garcia the WBC welterweight crown and represents one of the most complete performances of his career, a culmination of expectations placed on him since he turned pro a decade ago. The victory also answers pre-fight questions about whether Garcia could finally become a world champion, altering a narrative that had framed him as a huge star who had yet to capture a title.
Pre-fight context that mattered
Before the fight experts expected a tactical, low-output contest between two tall welterweights unlikely to regularly close distance. Analysis before the bout highlighted several historical punch-output markers: Garcia's no-contest with Devin Haney and his fight with Romero were both cited among the lowest combined punch outputs for 12-round fights in tracked history, with figures noted as 499 and 490 punches in separate contests. Observers also noted uncertainty about how Garcia's power would translate to 147 pounds and that Barrios is not typically a heavy puncher. Garcia had been hurt to the body previously, most notably in a seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta "Tank" Davis in April 2023; Barrios had also lost to Davis in 2021 by 11th-round stoppage in a 140-pound title fight.
Looking ahead: immediate implications and unknowns
Garcia's championship modifies the division's hierarchy and validates a comeback arc that included a suspension, loss and hand surgery. Questions that remain and are unclear in the provided context include the timeline for Garcia's recovery from his right-hand injury and any immediate rematch or next opponent for the new WBC welterweight champion. The combined facts from the buildup and the fight itself show a fighter who entered under scrutiny and left with the title, while Barrios' recent draws and tactical issues underscore why the bout swung decisively in Garcia's favor.
