By Sean Jones: Former WBA ‘regular’ light welterweight champion Mario Barrios says he came out of his 11th round knockout defeat to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis motivated to fight on.
Overall, Barrios (26-1, 17 KO) is pleased with the way he performed against Tank, and he felt that he was winning the fight until he was dropped twice in the eighth.
Barrio doesn’t understand why the referee Thomas Taylor stopped the fight in the eleventh round because he felt he should have been allowed to continue.
In fairness to the referee, Barrios’ knees had been dropped, and his knees buckled after getting hit hard by Tank. Barrios sounds a little in denial about how the fight had entirely slipped away by the last quarter of the contest.
Even if the referee had allowed the fight to continue, Barrios had virtually no chance of making it out of the 11th round, let alone finishing the fight.
Barrios, 26, plans on now getting ready to fight again, possibly at 147. He believes he can make waves in the welterweight division. That’s obviously going to be difficult, given that Barrios is more of a volume puncher than a power guy.
Barrios disagrees with the ref’s stoppage
“I thought I was boxing really nicely,” said Mario Barrios to Fighthub in reflecting on his performance against Gervonta Davis. “There were a lot of things that I wished I could have done differently or could have done differently.
“Overall, I was happy with my performance, and my team was happy with my performance. We’re not dwelling on that we took our first loss, but we’re going to keep growing from this in every way that we can.
“I’d go back and try and work the body a little bit more early on and try and put him on his back foot more than I was,” Barrios said about what he should have done against Gervonta.
“It was the first time I touched the canvas. He definitely has the explosiveness and that power that we were expecting him to have.
“It’s part of boxing. There was never anything that I got hit with where I wouldn’t be able to continue.
“Even with the stoppage, I don’t know why it was stopped. I still felt that I could have continued.
“I really wish I could have got to, but that’s how things played out that night. I’m just moving on from here. I was a little confused with the ref’s call.
“He yelled ‘Stop,’ and I don’t know why he yelled ‘stop.’ But then he waved his hands, and at that point, there was nothing I could do. I can’t sit there and argue with him.
“He felt it was the necessary call, and I don’t agree with it, but that was his call. I thought it was rather close, but I think I was definitely in that fight,” said Barrios
It looked like Barrios had no problems with the stoppage at the time. He wasn’t complaining moments after the fight was halted, so it’s hard to know why he’s making a big production about it now, a month later.
Barrios was done for the night after being dropped twice by Gervonta in the eighth round for all intents and purposes. Barrios never came back from those two knockdowns to make it interesting.
If the fight were a six-rounder, Barrios would have won, but that’s not what he had signed up for.
Mario saw panic in Gervonta’s corner
“I could see in Davis’ corner that it was getting hectic. They were worried round by round, so I knew I was doing something right.
“The plan was to keep it as we had it and to try and land more as the rounds went on. In between rounds, I was able to see that his corner was getting a little bit hectic.
“I could see Mayweather getting up and Tank listening and looking around and listening to too many people at once. So I knew I was doing something right, and I knew it was definitely a fight.
“I was in that fight. I was a little down with the fight being called off by the referee, but as I said, it’s part of the business.
“He was the better man that night. From here, I can only go up,” Barrios said.
The way that Gervonta’s promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr ran up and gave him a motivational talk after the seventh round, that showed how concerned he was about him losing.
Mayweather was in the panic mode at full throttle, knowing that Gervonta’s career as a ticket seller and low-level pay-per-view attraction was at serious risk against Barrios.
Tank Davis can accomplish a lot at 140
“I still have a lot to do in the sport, and I’m excited to get back to work and moving forward again,” Barrios continued. “I’ve had wins that didn’t feel as good as this past loss.
“I’m thankful that I got a lot of new supporters from this fight, and I was thankful that I was able to show everybody the fighter that I am and what I bring every time I step foot inside the ring.
Given the opportunity, I might stay at 140,” said Barrios. “I’m going to sit down and talk to my team, but the move will be soon.
“The weight isn’t coming off like it used to. I’m not saying I struggled or anything. I made the weight good; I felt strong. And I had a great camp for that fight, but the move to 147 is definitely soon.
“And I think Tank could accomplish quite a bit if he did decide to stay at 140,” said Barrios. “He was powerful in there, very explosive but still very quick. There are a lot of fights that could be made for him there.
“Again, I was in that fight [against Tank Davis],” said Barrios. “I don’t know if I was up on the cards or not, but I had the fight very close when I was in there.
“I’m not going to say all that, but it would be a great fight to watch unfold,” Barrios said when asked if Tank Davis would beat Josh Taylor at 140.
So it sounds like Barrios believes Tank can do well at 140, but not if he fights Josh Taylor.
Well, he doesn’t have to worry about that because Tank Davis’ promoters at Mayweather Promotions likely won’t let him anywhere near Taylor. They know Tank’s limitations as a fighter.
Barrios is likely to move up to 147
“I don’t know what he be saying. I don’t pay attention to much of what he says,” Barrios said about Regis Prograis being upset that he fought Tank instead of him.
“We never promised anybody anything. I don’t worry about any of the nonsense, especially with the s*** that he is talking about.
“Before this fight with Gervonta, I was ready to make a move to 147,” said Barrios.
“That’s leaning towards where I’m going as opposed to 140. There are many good fights out there to be made that have the magnitude to be great fights.
“I definitely want to be back in the ring before this year is over at least once. If it could be twice, that would be awesome too.
“This fight has motivated me more than anything, taking this loss. I’m excited to come back and show fans the fighter that Mario Barrios is.
“It’s a fight that I knew I was in [against Gervonta] if it didn’t get stopped. That’s why it was so motivating.
“It was so close, and then it got called off with a round and a half left. It has made me more hungry than anything,” Barrios said.
Barrios needs to think hard before he makes a move up to 147 because he’s not going to be able to compete with guys like Vergil Ortiz Jr, Shawn Porter, or Jaron Ennis.
The only positive for Barrios in fighting at 147 is that he can potentially get a big payday if one of the champions gives him a title shot.
But if Barrios has to earn the title shot by fighting Porter, Ennis, or Ortiz Jr, it’s going to likely end badly for him.