Ryan Garcia’s disciplined dominance of Mario Barrios on Saturday boosted the fighter’s options now that he’s re-announced himself with another big win, but this time as a WBC welterweight world boxing champion, having wrested the belt from his opponent’s waist with speed and a mature evolution of style.
The 27-year-old has shown flashes of greatness before, but after getting off the canvas to clip Luke Campbell, he came unstuck to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’s body-shot in 2023.
He’s been inconsistent ever since.
After a knockout win over Oscar Duarte, a masterclass over Devin Haney was retrospectively ruled a No Contest after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine. When he returned to the ring against Rolando Romero last year, Garcia looked lost, yet found himself this weekend with a strategic signature victory at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
There’s a wealth of options for Garcia as he’s been linked with many opponents who’d combine to help him break the bank, from Conor Benn to Manny Pacquiao.
But, speaking to DAZN’s Chris Mannix post-fight, he made it clear only one name was on his mind.
“You know who I want,” Garcia said, after advancing his pro record to 25-2 (20 KOs). “He’s right there — Shakur Stevenson; let’s go. Let’s run that s***. I want to be a great champion. And I’m not scared of s***. I’ve fought Devin Haney. I’ll fight Shakur Stevenson. Let’s f****** go.”
“I want that fight. Shakur, let’s get it. I want that work.”
Though not mic’d, Stevenson could be heard saying: “Let’s make it happen.”
Reacting to the loss, in a bout he was never competitive in, Barrios — whose face looked swollen — said: “I got caught with a shot he didn’t see. He had a better game-plan. He fought smart, explosive, and intelligent. It was his night.”
In defeat, Barrios’s record retreats to 29-3-2 (18 KOs).
It was not long before Garcia enjoyed a champagne celebration in the locker room.
“That’s exactly what I expected,” Garcia’s promoter, Oscar de la Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, told DAZN. “Ryan Garcia was too fast. He was locked and focused and I was telling him, use that jab, have fun. And he had a good time.”
“He did dominate him and I was actually very surprised the fact he went with Manny Pacquiao, and had a great showing, but I expected more from Barrios but the speed and combinations from Ryan did the job.”
He refused to get drawn into next match-ups for Garcia in boxing, saying instead: “We’ll see.”