WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios says he’s unsure if Ryan Garcia deserves a title shot against him when he returns from his suspension in 2025.
Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) states that because Ryan tested positive for a banned PED, he’s not sure that he would want to get involved with him. He feels that Ryan (24-1, 20 KOs) should return and get some fights under his belt before he considers defending his WBC 147-lb title against him.
Interestingly, Barrios will be making a title defense of his WBC belt against Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs), a fighter with a 1-2 record in his last three fights, when they meet on November 15th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
If Ryan doesn’t deserve a title shot, why is Ramos being given a chance to challenge Barrios for his WBC belt? Ramos has lost two out of his last three fights to Cody Crowley and Luke Santamaria. Where are the standards for that fight? Maybe Ryan needs to start losing the way Ramos is to get a title shot against Barrios.
“Does he really deserve it? If he comes back. Yeah, it would be good money,” said Mario Barrios to the media when asked if he would welcome defending his WBC welterweight title against Ryan Garcia next year when he returns from his suspension.
Barrios was recently elevated to full WBC champion outside of the ring. He didn’t actually win his welterweight title. He won the WBC interim belt against Yordenis Ugas last year on September 30th and then was later elevated to full champion. It’s not the ideal way to become a champion, but Barrios wouldn’t turn it down.
“Hopefully, he comes back and gets on his s***, and he gets some of the fights that he wants,” said Barrios about Ryan Garcia. “It’s weird. The whole thing with Haney and him. Him popping up dirty. Regardless, as a fighter, I’ve got my own views on that. It’s f*** up.”
Barrios may not be thinking things through. The money he would get fighting Ryan Garcia would be far more than he’ll receive defending against Abel Ramos or whoever PBC digs up for him after that fight in 2025.
If Barrios is going to turn down Ryan, he may regret it later because he’s not a good enough fighter to hold onto his WBC title for any length of time without being protected by his management. We already saw ring-rusty Keith Thurman beat Barrios by a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision coming off a two-and-one-half-year layoff on February 5, 2022. Before that, Barrios was knocked out in the 11th round by Gervonta Davis on June 26, 2021.
Barrios has won his last three fights since, beating journeyman Jovanie Santiago, Yordenis Ugas, and Fabian Maidana. Ugas was coming off a knockout loss to Errol Spence in a fight in which he suffered an eye injury. This wasn’t the fresh Ugas that had lost a questionable 12-round split decision to Shawn Porter on March 9th, 2019.
“Like I said. If he comes back, cleans up, and continues to be successful, yeah, I would welcome a fight with him,” said Barrios. “As a fighter, we’re putting our lives on the line every time we step in there. I think it shows more about your character than whatever it is you’re popping up dirty for.”
The chances are that Barrios won’t be the WBC champion much longer. So, if his promoters are thinking things through clearly, they should give Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney a title shot in 2025 if either of those popular fighters shows interest. Even Regis Prograis would be an upgrade for Barrios to Ramos and the guys he’s been facing since his loss to Thurman in 2022.
“I get it. I think it’s a little bit extra, but I get it,” said Barrios about his thoughts on Haney suing Ryan. “Our lives are on the line. They’re going about it in an interesting way. I don’t know. My team handles all that. They bring the fights for me. We just to the way that makes more sense.
“I think Ryan Garcia is a damn good fighter. He has a lot of attributes about him that are really great in the ring. What has happened in the past year or two. Yeah, I know I wouldn’t,” said Barrios when asked if he wouldn’t want to get involved in Ryan’s situation.
