I've been speaking for years about the mediocrity of Mario Barrios (and yes, I picked him to win, but my defense is Ryan Garcia sleepwalked through a loss to Rolando Romero, who is just as mediocre as Barrios in his last fight) and his title 'defense" draws against journeyman Abel Ramos and the ancient Manny Pacquiao didn't fill me with confidencce either.
The enigmatic Garcia has always been talented, but his form in borderline quitting against Gervonta Davis, his juiced-up "win" (later changed to a no-contest) against Devin Haney, and his walking down defeat to Rollie Romero made me wonder how much Garcia had left or what type of fighter would show up in Las Vegas.
Garcia sent Barrios down with a right hand in the first round and was never threatened thereafter, as neither his jab nor his right could miss Barrios.
I scored the fight 120-107, same as judge David Sutherland, with the remaining judges giving Barrios one and two rounds respectively
The victory gave Garcia his first world championship, the WBC welterweight title, and he immediately called out Shakur Stevenson, who recently defeated Teofimo Lopez for the WBO junior welterweight title, and that fight makes sense.
Garcia will always have the rematch against Devin Haney in his back pocket.
A Haney return would be a unification match (Haney recently won the WBO title from Brian Norman), that fight is viable at any time, IBF champion Lewis Crocker wouldn't be a draw in the USA, and while another rematch against WBA boss Rolando Romero would make sense, their first fight was very boring, with few lining up for an immediate second go.
And Stevenson doesn't have a big fight waiting in his division unless he wants to fight WBC champion Dalton Smith in the United Kingdom, which would be big there, not in America, so meeting Garcia would be a large payday for Stevenson.
I'm still lukewarm on Ryan Garcia's future, although this win is enough to keep him viable as a top name for a few more fights.
It just always seems that there's something with Garcia you can't count on. Despite his dominant win over Barrios, Garcia wasn't able to completely dispel that problem because of the disparity in talent between them.
Garcia-Stevenson only has one small issue, and it depends on how much Garcia values his new WBC belt.
Stevenson refused to pay the WBC a six-figure sum for "allowing" him to meet Lopez for the WBO title in another division and was stripped of his WBC lightweight title.
Stevenson claimed he will never fight for another WBC title, and it's a consideration, but this is boxing, and never is a word we never use!
The WBC wouldn't like that fight unless there was a change of heart from Stevenson, but I'm sure if Garcia was willing to pay the sanctioning fee, the organization could get past it, especially if there was a caveat that Garcia could keep the belt with a win and would become vacant should Stevenson grab the victory.
As for Mario Barrios, he's had a nice career filled with a world title and solid paychecks despite winning just one fight against a top opponent (Yordenis Ugas), and it would be nice to see him walk away.
Barrios will retain a name and will be a fighter in demand for young challengers and champions to add to their record book, but his days as a top boxer are over if he ever had them.
I'll be back next time with the undercard, a fight from England, and the unprofessional behavior of Richardson Hitchins, who was supposed to fight in the co-main event, only to drop out hours before his scheduled bout vs Oscar Duarte.
Boxing Challenge
TRS: 18 Pts (0)
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