MARIO’S WORLD
M ario Barrios wears the face he thinks everyone wants to see. It’s a genial, approachable facade that masks the roiling, bubbling tension within. The WBC welterweight titleholder is set to fight Ryan Garcia on February 21 in Las Vegas. And Barrios knows why: “I’m supposed to lose. I’m supposed to be this guy’s comeback fight. They handpicked me because they think I’m an easy touch, and they had better start thinking again. It pisses me off. I’m not going to lie; it pisses me off, and someone is going to pay. Ryan Garcia is going to pay.” Being thought of as an easy mark has been good for Barrios in the past. It got him a fight with Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao last July, ruled a majority draw. Beyond that, he enjoyed a large platform on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard, which was streamed on Netflix to a far larger audience than boxing typically gets. That night,
Barrios and Abel Ramos thrilled the fans in attendance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as they fought to a bloody split draw. Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) has received great paydays and great exposure, and he now has another excellent fight to build his brand, this time against the enigmatic Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs). Every fighter at one time or another, from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, complains about the lack of respect they receive during their careers from the boxing media and the sport’s fan base. In Barrios’ case, the fact that he is not getting the respect he feels he deserves is why he has been getting these choice fights. Barrios was in attendance for the Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz-Lamont Roach Jr. fight in San Antonio in early December, there to announce and promote his upcoming fight against Garcia. One of boxing’s genuinely good guys, Barrios signed autographs and mingled with
fans inside the Frost Bank Center during the Cruz-Roach fight, which ended in a very relatable majority draw. But Barrios also heard the muttering in the crowd and saw the doubts people had about him beating Garcia on social media. In his last fight, Garcia suffered a massive upset loss to Rolando “Rolly” Romero on the May 2 megacard in New York City’s Times Square. Garcia was coming off a one-year suspension for testing positive for ostarine, a performance-enhancing drug, which turned his stunning April 2024 majority-decision victory over Devin Haney into a no-contest. In that fight, Garcia dropped Haney in the seventh, 10th and 11th rounds. Romero was served on a plate for
WELTERWEIGHT TITLEHOLDER MARIO BARRIOS RESENTS AND WELCOMES BEING
WRITTEN OFF IN EQUAL MEASURE. THE TEXAS- BORN TECHNICIAN NOW TAKES AIM AT RYAN GARCIA, WHO IS THE LATEST FIGHTER TO SEE HIM AS A STEPPING STONE. By Joseph Santoliquito
Barrios and Abel Ramos fought to a draw on the Paul-Tyson card.
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