Garcia Vs Barrios: Garcia captures WBC welterweight title in one-sided Las Vegas win

Ryan Garcia secured the one thing that had eluded him for his professional career, ending the buildup to garcia vs barrios with a lopsided victory in Las Vegas that leaves little doubt about the result. Garcia knocked down Mario Barrios with his first two punches and won a unanimous decision to claim the WBC welterweight championship.

Decisive start and judges' cards at T-Mobile Arena

The fight opened at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with Garcia landing a pair of right hands that sent Mario Barrios to the canvas in the opening sequence. The judges returned wide scores of 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109, handing Garcia the unanimous decision that earned him the WBC welterweight title.

Garcia's right hand, injured but effective

Garcia, listed at 25-2 with 20 KOs in one account of his record, leaned heavily on his right hand instead of his vaunted left hook, using it to bludgeon Barrios around the ring. He described the night as a display of his full arsenal: "It was one of the fights where I wanted to show you my whole arsenal, " Garcia said. "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 the performance Garcia injured his right hand, an injury that probably saved Barrios from being stopped, but did not stop Garcia from landing a variety of punches to the head and body throughout the bout.

Barrios entered as champion, with recent draws and a new trainer

Mario Barrios, listed at 29-3-2 with 18 KOs in one account, came into the fight as the WBC champion but had gone 0-0-2 in his two previous fights, earning draws against Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos. Those draws were described as competitive, but the bout with Garcia was not. Barrios could not match Garcia's speed and was unable to put together his usual high volume of punches.

For the bout Barrios hired trainer Joe Goossen, who had previously worked with Garcia. That hiring reportedly lit a fire under Garcia, who returned to training under his father after working with several trainers over the past few years. Goosen said of Garcia, "That's the performance I expected from him. What we needed to do more of was press a little bit more. But Mario tri" — the quoted comment is incomplete and unclear in the provided context.

Recent setbacks, suspensions and controversies in Garcia's run-up

Garcia's journey to the title carried a string of setbacks and controversies. In the past couple of years he had gone 1-2 with a no-contest and was described as 27 years old in one account. He lost to Gervonta Davis and Rolly Romero, and his majority decision win over Devin Haney in 2024 was said to have been overturned because of a failed drug test that resulted in a yearlong suspension. In another account, he failed a drug test for the banned substance ostarine following a no-contest with Devin Haney in April 2024 and was banned from the sport for a year.

Garcia returned to challenge Romero for the WBA (regular) welterweight title this past May at Times Square and lost a decision. He claimed he had a hand injury going into the Romero bout, required surgery afterward and remained out of the ring for another nine months, a sequence that left him with just one bout in the prior 22 months. Outside the ring he was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly causing an estimated $15, 000 of damage to a Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotel room, and he was expelled from the WBC a month later after repeatedly using racial slurs and disparaging Muslims on a social media livestream. Once the WBC reinstated him, he was in position to challenge for a world title and took advantage of the opportunity.

Pre-fight expectations, low-output history and the punch-count context

Before the fight many previews had framed Garcia as one of boxing's biggest stars who had yet to win a world title, and the match was built on expectations and questions about both men. In an era that included Lewis Crocker and Rolando "Rolly" Romero as welterweight world champions, the chance for Garcia to claim a title mattered to his career narrative. Barrios had been upgraded to full WBC champion in 2024 and had drawn with Abel Ramos in November of that year and with 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao in July.

Pre-fight analysis pointed to another likely low-output encounter: both were described as tall welterweights unlikely to close distance regularly, expected to use their jabs and fight at long range. Observers noted uncertainty about how Garcia's power would carry to 147 pounds and labeled Barrios "not a puncher. " Garcia had been hurt to the body before, most notably in a seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis in April 2023; Barrios had also been taken out by Davis in the 11th round of their 140-pound title bout in 2021. Stat lines from prior fights were cited: Garcia's fight with Romero registered a combined 490 punches in a 12-round fight — the third-lowest total in CompuBox's 40-year history — while an earlier 12-round bout with Haney recorded 499 punches at the time noted as the third-fewest thrown in a 12-round fight. Critics had observed that Garcia did not use his right hand much in the Romero fight, a point that stood in contrast to his heavy right-hand work in this victory over Barrios.