{"id":487096,"date":"2026-02-18T03:31:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T03:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/487096\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T03:31:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T03:31:37","slug":"ryan-garcia-v-mario-barrios-fight-for-wbc-welterweight-world-title-in-vegas-my-burial-or-my-resurrection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/487096\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Garcia v Mario Barrios fight for WBC welterweight world title in Vegas, \u2018My burial or my resurrection\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an era of motormouth stars, Ryan Garcia stands out even by those larger-than-life standards, able to dominate a room with his presence.<\/p>\n

Fight fans saw it at the launch conference for his latest tilt at a world title, the verbose Californian firmly back in his position as upstart king.<\/p>\n

Barrios vs Garcia | Sunday 22 Feb from 12pm AEDT | Ryan Garcia will attempt to win his first major world title when he challenges WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios in Las Vegas. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Garcia is the kind of man whose oratory impulses and volatile unpredictability make him a box-office pull beyond the sport\u2019s usual borders.<\/p>\n

But it cuts the other way too \u2014 and as he lines up a third crack at world champion status, \u2018Flash\u2019 will have to reel in a rather slippery big fish.<\/p>\n

Mario Barrios earned the WBC welterweight title a year-and-a-half ago, elevated from the interim strap he held beneath Terence Crawford.<\/p>\n

The Texan had built an interesting career before then, a super-lightweight contender before losses to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman.<\/p>\n

That was four years ago. Since then, he has gone undefeated \u2014 but that stat doesn\u2019t tell the whole story of a very curious champion reign.<\/p>\n

Come Saturday night, Barrios will hope to stamp his authority on a title many feel he has not quite earned \u2014 and with it, silence his critics.<\/p>\n

DRAWN ACES AND STRAIGHT FLUSHES<\/p>\n

Roll back to 2024, and Barrios was a hot property. His defeats to Davis and Thurman were in the rearview mirror, and he was poised for the top.<\/p>\n

A wide decision over Fabi\u00e1n Maidana in May saw him retain the interim strap he had earned against Yordenis Ug\u00e1s the previous September.<\/p>\n

So far, so good \u2014 and with Crawford stripped of his belt as he pursued new challenges elsewhere, his elevation was a hard-earned reward.<\/p>\n

Barrios booked a defence against the WBC\u2019s No.8 contender, Abel Ramos, for November, for what many assumed would be routine.<\/p>\n

Spoiler: it wasn\u2019t. The champion was knocked to the canvas in the sixth round and ultimately found himself held to a split-decision draw.<\/p>\n

It was a result that put rivals on notice, a performance that suggested the star\u2019s fallibility remained from his defeats several years prior.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

Barrios v Garcia ultimate guide: Everything you need to know for blockbuster<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Tomorrow might never come\u2019: How Joshua\u2019s car crash inspired Fury\u2019s return<\/a><\/p>\n

Barrios booked his next defence against the ageing Manny Pacquiao, out of retirement at 46 to hunt another belt \u2014 and again, took the draw.<\/p>\n

Pundits had plenty of questions. Those around the division began to single Barrios out \u2014 and many weren\u2019t silent in their calls for a dance.<\/p>\n

READY TO REASSERT DOMINANCE<\/p>\n

Garcia arrives for Barrios at a time that truly is do-or-die for his champion credentials, where he needs to draw himself a line in the sand.<\/p>\n

Nobody has dethroned him \u2014 but nor has he stopped either of the men chasing his crown, allowing them to get perilously close to it.<\/p>\n

Now, he has the opportunity against the one-time golden boy of American boxing, a star on his own quest for some form of sly redemption.<\/p>\n

Garcia may have never held a major title, but for many, both in and out of the sport, he still appears one of the nation\u2019s most bankable draws.<\/p>\n

Like Barrios, however, the shine has worn off, with his defeat to Rolando Romero last year something of a nadir for his reputation in the ring.<\/p>\n

Garcia acknowledges that this is the biggest fight of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, 100 per cent,\u201d he told DAZN. <\/p>\n

\u201cMore stakes. Everything is just right on this world championship fight. I wouldn\u2019t want it any other way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s either gonna be my burial or my resurrection, one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

At last month\u2019s press event, Garcia ran his mouth again, lobbing printed tees at the opposition table and playing his part as renegade hype man.<\/p>\n

Pacquiao vs Barrios: Fight Highlights | 14:59<\/p>\n

His rival kept his counsel for the most part \u2014 and it is that belief he claims he still has in his powers that he must call upon this weekend for good.<\/p>\n

A reckoning is coming for Mario Barrios in Las Vegas. Now, it is up to him to leave Sin City with his name still up in lights and reputation restored.<\/p>\n

Some of this article first appeared on DAZN.com<\/a> and was reproduced with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an era of motormouth stars, Ryan Garcia stands out even by those larger-than-life standards, able to dominate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-487096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}