It would be hard to script a more convincing performance than the victory of Ryan Garcia in winning his first world championship Saturday at age 26.
Garcia of Los Angeles, California (25-2, 20 KOs) put all his demons behind him and all his doubt and doubters to the sidelines. With his father, Henry, returning as his trainer, Garcia defanged and defeated Mario Barrios of San Antonio (29-3-2, 18 KOs), opening the fight with a stunning knockdown, then turning Barrios into a human heavy bag for 12 hard rounds. Garcia is now the new WBC World Welterweight champion.
Judge David Sutherland gave Garcia every round at 120-107. Tim Cheatham scored it 119-108, and Steve Weisfeld scored it a generous 118-109.
Ryan Garcia: “It Feels Good Finally”
Garcia was equally elated and relieved at finally reaching this goal, a moment his promoter Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Boxing called the single most special moment in a fighter’s career, winning his first world title.
“It feels good, finally, to be a world champion. This is something I’ve been dreaming of since I was seven years old,” said Garcia, talking about the rich history of the WBC belt and calling it legendary.
“Oscar held that belt. Floyd’s that about everybody’s held that belt, and now Ryan Garcia is holding that belt. Honestly, this feels like a dream come true, and I couldn’t be more happy and blessed right now.”
Asked if it was the best performance of his career, Garcia called it the most mature performance. “My speed was on point. My jab was on point. A lot of things were on point. I mean, I pretty much did what I was doing in camp. I realized that I’m really faster than everybody.”
Garcia Turns Mario Barrios Into A Human Heavy Bag
Garcia met Barrios in the center of the ring and made the fans at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas gasp when he dropped Barrios just seconds into the first round with a looping right hook, catching Barrios on the top of the head.
I said, ‘Man, am I gonna really get him out here in the first round?’ That’s pretty crazy, but I knew he was the champion, and he was not gonna just let it go that easy. So I just stayed focused and went back to the jab,” said Garcia.
From that point forward, Barrios seemed paralyzed by Garcia’s impressive handspeed and punch output. He could muster little offensive effort. His jab was ineffective and missing in action. He couldn’t counter Garcia’s speed. His chin held up and gave him a chance, but round by round his title was slipping through his hands.
Trainer Joe Goossen did what he could to urge Barrios to let his hands go. But that admonition turned into blunt instructions with three rounds remaining as Goossen told Barrios he needed a knockout to win, even as he must have known it wasn’t happening.
Mario Barrios: “It Was Just His Night”
After the loss, Barrios and Goossen made no excuses.
He had the better game plan. He boxed very smart, very explosive, very intelligent. It was just his night,” said Barrios. “I knew he had the boxing abilities. He fought a very smart fight, sticking and moving.”
Barrios said that despite Goossen’s prior experience training Garcia, they were not prepared for his looping right hand and were instead prepared for his powerful left hook.
“Ryan was at his best,” agreed Goossen. “What we needed to do, we needed to do more of. He’s a tough guy to track down. He’s very elusive, very fleet of foot. Quick handed.
“Mario tried his best and took his big shots early. He took everything Ryan gave and kept on coming. Ryan wasn’t as active in the late rounds, and we failed to capitalize on those opportunities,” concluded Goossen.
Discipline Meets Speed and Power
Trying to reconcile this well-trained, disciplined, and razor-sharp version of Garcia with the lackluster effort in Times Square last May against Rolly Romero is an unsolvable brain teaser. From the third round to the end of the fight, Garcia was on cruise control with the fight’s outcome in no doubt.
“I wanted to show my whole arsenal. I should have got the knockout to be honest. I had him hurt many times. I seen my right hand working tonight,” said Garcia. “Mario’s a tough warrior, respect for him, a fellow Mexican-American. We put on a hell of a show.”
Shakur Stevenson Is Garcia’s Next Target
While Garcia, his father Henry, and his entire team should enjoy his well-earned victory, questions about his next fight come immediately after posing for photos with his new championship belt.
Garcia didn’t hesitate. In the ring, he pointed and said, “You know who I want. He’s right there. It’s Shakur Stevenson.
“The thing is like, you gotta have some kind of punching power to get me off of you. Because it will be a different style and I’m not going to hit a blank, I’m going to put it on him,” said Garcia.
Speaking after the fight on the DAZN broadcast, Stevenson and his stablemate, retired champion Terence Crawford, both had praise for Garcia’s performance. But Crawford made his thoughts plain about the outcome of a Stevenson vs Garcia matchup.
“I think he wipes the floor with him. I don’t think Ryan will be able to hit Shakur like he hit Barrios. Barrios was right there to be hit. Barrios was too slow. Barrios didn’t have no game plan. Shakur isn’t going to be that fighter. It’s simple,” said Crawford.
“If he goes up against Shakur, they’ve been together in the ring many times as kids. He never defeated Shakur as an amateur. What makes him think he’s going to defeat him as a professional?” asked Crawford.
The fight won’t take place anytime soon, as Garcia reinjured his fragile right hand early in the fight on Saturday, and said at the halfway point of the fight, he wasn’t using it as much as he wanted. He will need to let it heal, and he’s earned the right to enjoy the championship victory the world thought was a long time in coming.
Super Lightweights Deliver On Undercard
Despite the cancellation of the original Hitchins vs Duarte co-main event, the two super lightweight fights on the undercard laid plenty of leather and showed off excellent skills to make any fan happy.
Gary Antuanne Russell Takes Oh From Andy Hiraoka
In the new co-main event, WBA World Lightweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell of Capital Heights, Maryland (18-1, 17 KOs) got a solid challenge from Andy Hiraoka of Yokohama, Japan (24-0, 19 KOs).
Hiraoka came in with a ten-fight knockout streak and wasn’t eager to suffer his first loss. But Russell simply has too many tools and won by decision with scorecards of 117-110, 116-111, and 116-111.
“I listened to my corner very well. We came with Plan A, B, and C,” said Russell,” complimenting his brother and now trainer Gary Russell Jr.
“Adversity is something to expect in this sport. When you’re down on the scorecards, you try to pick it up. I made the necessary adjustments and I’m confident in my corner and myself to make those adjustments.
“I went up against a lot of different styles, to I’m very well versed. He never fought nobody like me. I take my hat off to him for being a tough competitor.”
Russell said the future is exciting with unification potential ahead. He prefers to fight Richardson Hitchins (assuming he still holds the IBF title) or Dalton Smith before he goes after the top dog, Shakur Stevenson, who Russell said has earned that position.
Frank Martin and Nahir Albright Do Battle To Draw
Super lightweights Frank Martin and Nahir Albright promised a good show, and they delivered on that promise with a terrific action-packed fight with both men getting their chance to shine. Martin began to pull away in the middle rounds, but a determined Albright roared back in the last four rounds, badly hurting Martin and nearly stopping him in the final round.
Breathing hard as he tried to close the fight, Albright lost his mouthpiece twice in the last round, and it stopped his momentum just enough for Martin to avoid getting knocked down or knocked out.
It seemed fitting when all three judges scored the fight between Martin of Detroit (19-1-1, 13 KOs) and Albright of Philadelphia (17-2-1, 7 KOs) a 95-95 draw. Both agreed they’d be willing to run it back.
Martin admitted he could have done a lot better as the favorite against Albright, complimenting him as both awkward and strong. “I can see why he gives guys problems in the ring with his awkwardness.
“I knew he was going to be tough,” said Martin. “He threw a little different stuff in the mix today. We prepare for certain things. There were some things tonight I didn’t expect. It made the fight a lot more challenging than I thought it would be.”
Albright thought he pulled out the win. “It was a great competitive fight. I expected a war; I was prepared for a war. That’s what it was tonight.”
Albright said that when his trainer told him to pick it up after the sixth round, he thought about his daughter back home and gave it his all.
“If my mouthpiece didn’t fall out, you all know what would have happened. Gia, I love you. Daddy put on a show for us tonight!” Albright then asked if he could sing and serenaded the fans at the T-Mobile Arena with a fine a cappella version of “Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Boyz II Men.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.