Ryan Garcia Seeks His First World Title Against Mario Barrios

Los Angeles, California – Ryan Garcia says he’s focused, locked in, and at 100 percent for his upcoming world title fight against Mario Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) on February 21 at the T-Mobile Arena. Garcia will challenge Barrios for the WBC welterweight world championship.

“This will be a very bloody fight, a lot of cuts,” said Garcia at Thursday’s press conference. Given their styles, it has the potential to be a war. Joe Goossen knows first hand what Ryan is capable of, having worked with him at different periods in his career.

Having helped Garcia during his amateur days and most recently in the pros in three fights against Emmanuel Tagoe, Javier Fortuna, and Gervonta Davis.

Ryan said at the presser he feels betrayed and broken hearted at Goossen choosing to train a fighter to fight him. Knowing a fighter’s strength and weaknesses in the ring gives a fighter a competitive advantage, having chosen Goossen could have been a strategic decision on behalf of Mario’s team.

Although he stated otherwise at the presser, “The fact that he trained Ryan Garcia had nothing to do with it. The move to go with Joe was going to happen, whether this fight happened or not. Me and my team just felt we needed a change to get this last stretch in my career.”

Mario and Goosen appear to have devised an intelligent gameplan against Ryan. When asked by media members how he plans to neutralize Ryan’s left hook, he said, “Distance is going to be key, timing… just using my physical attributes, [and my] boxing skills.”

Garcia appears to have scouted Barrios, knowing some of his tendencies and capabilities. “The one thing we do know about Mario Barrios he is a very durable fighter. He will come back in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth rounds, and keep fighting on. Even though he may have gotten hurt or this and that. We’ve been studying a lot of him.”

Mario has been tested and pushed to the limits before in his fights against Keith Thurman and Gervonta Davis. He fought bravely but ultimately was defeated. Most recently, he fought to a draw against Manny Pacquiao in a close fight that could have been awarded to either fighter.

Garcia knows this is his time to truly demonstrate what he is capable of. All those missed opportunities due to a lack of preparation or loss of focus he had in the past cannot repeat themselves. He cannot afford back-to-back losses.

He has the potential to fight at the elite level; it’s simply if he chooses to perform to expectation. He is giving the impression that he will perform at his best. Team Barrios is preparing for the best version of Ryan, and Garcia should do the same if he wants to capture his first world title.