Ryan Garcia is in a must-win situation going into his fight against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on February 21, 2026. Losing to Barrios is going to sink Kingry’s already badly listing ship.
Turki’s Vegas Plan Hinges on Victory
Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn says Turki Alalshikh has plans in place for Ryan (24-2, 20 KOs) to face Conor Benn in a mega-fight on May 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. But for that fight to happen, Garcia has to defeat Barrios.
If Kingry Falls – The Rebuild List
- Alexis Rocha
- Ekow Essusman
- Souleymane Cissokho
- Tahmir Smalls
Living-Room Training: Red Flag?
Looking at Ryan’s repeated posts of him working out in the living room of his house in the last month, things are looking bleak for him. He’s not showing the kind of hunger that he once had to train in the gym, work hard, and prepare for his fights. He’s training like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. did years ago before his fight against Sergio Martinez.
Ryan isn’t training right, and he’s heading into disaster against Barrios next February. Garcia’s performance in his last fight against Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero earlier this year, on May 2, 2025, looked like that of a timid, uninspired fighter. It wasn’t the same Ryan that defeated Devin Haney in 2024 and Oscar Duarte in 2023.
The Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) that we saw in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao on July 19 would be too tough for Ryan Garcia. He’s more willing to engage, take shots, and has enough pop in his punches to defeat Ryan.
Consequence: No Benn, No Haney, No Hype
“When we were in Saudi Arabia last week, His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] said to us, ‘I think the winner of you against you, and Garcia-Barrios is the fight. Conor Benn against Ryan Garcia on Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas.’ We’d fill it up with Brits alone,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to DAZN Boxing.
A loss for Ryan against Barrios will wreck plans for him to fight Conor Benn and Devin Haney. Garcia would climb his way back to the top because it would be useless for him to be given a third straight title shot after back-to-back defeats.
