Dazn: Ryan Garcia Wrests WBC Welterweight Title From Mario Barrios in One-Sided Win
Ryan Garcia captured the WBC welterweight championship in Las Vegas, knocking Mario Barrios down with his first two punches and cruising to a unanimous decision; dazn. The result matters because it finishes a long chapter of setbacks for Garcia and hands Barrios a decisive defeat after a run of draws.
Ryan Garcia: knockdowns, scores and a title
Garcia opened the fight with a pair of right hands that sent Mario Barrios to the canvas and never relinquished control, relying more on his right than the left hook for which he had been known. The judges returned scores of 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109 in favor of Garcia, who improved his professional ledger to 25-2 with 20 KOs. At 27 years old, he delivered what was described as one of the most complete performances of his career.
Mario Barrios: trainer change and recent form
Barrios entered the bout as WBC champion with a record of 29-3-2 and 18 KOs, but he had not posted a victory in his two prior fights, which were draws with Abel Ramos and 47-year-old Manny Pacquiao. Ahead of the meeting with Garcia, Barrios hired trainer Joe Goossen, who had previously worked with Garcia. Goosen said he expected the performance he saw from Garcia and that "what we needed to do more of was press a little bit more, " acknowledging areas where Barrios fell short.
dazn and the fight setting at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
The title fight took place in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. The bout’s setting amplified the stakes: Barrios had been upgraded from interim to full WBC champion in 2024 and had defended a spot atop the division with two draws since, while Garcia arrived under intense scrutiny after a turbulent stretch outside the ring.
Career turbulence: suspensions, arrests and comeback timeline
Garcia’s path to this title was marked by disciplinary and legal setbacks. In April 2024 his majority decision win over Devin Haney was overturned after he failed a drug test for ostarine, triggering a yearlong suspension. He was arrested in June 2024 for allegedly causing roughly $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. The WBC later reinstated him, which put him back in a position to challenge for a world title.
Recent activity, injuries and competitive history
Garcia had compiled just one win in his last several outings before this title night, going 1-2 with a no-contest in the past couple of years and suffering defeats to Gervonta Davis and Rolando "Rolly" Romero. After the loss to Romero in May — a decision in a fight held at Times Square for the WBA (regular) welterweight title — Garcia said he entered that bout with a hand injury and required surgery afterward, an absence that stretched his inactivity to nine months and meant he had fought only once in 22 months.
CompuBox figures highlighted the rust and cautious styles in some of Garcia’s recent contests: his fight with Romero produced a combined 490 punches, the third-lowest total for a 12-round fight in CompuBox’s 40-year history, and the Haney bout recorded 499 punches, the third-fewest for a 12-round contest at the time. Those low outputs fed expectations that Garcia-Barrios could be another long-range, low-output affair.
Cause and effect inside the ring: injury and tactical impact
Garcia’s variety of punches and speed forced Barrios into a defensive shell for much of the fight, and Garcia landed to the head and body in predictable sequences: when Barrios expected a left hook, Garcia threw overhand rights, jabs or hooks to the body. Garcia also injured his right hand during the bout, which likely prevented a late knockout and arguably spared Barrios from being stopped. What makes this notable is how the injury intersected with Garcia’s tactical shift away from the left hook and toward a dominant right-hand attack, altering both the tempo and the finishing potential of the fight.
Barrios’s strengths — his jab and body work in past fights — did not unfold here, and his inability to match Garcia’s speed left him unable to consistently counter or force a change in approach. The broader implication is that Garcia’s title-winning performance arrives after a period of suspended credentials and ring inactivity, substantially changing the immediate narrative around both fighters.
