A welterweight title fight is destined to headline Premier Boxing Champions’ first major event of 2026.
For now, the process remains a revolving door.
BoxingScene has learned that PBC has shifted its energy to a planned showdown between WBC 147lbs titlist Mario Barrios and Ryan Garcia. The two sides have been in talks and working on terms for a clash eyed for the first quarter of the new year, confirming an earlier report from Ring Magazine.
Should the event move forward, it would serve as a jointly distributed pay-per-view event between Amazon’s Prime Video – PBC’s current platform – and DAZN, given its existing contract with Garcia and Golden Boy Promotions.
Working out terms for the joint venture is not as problematic, however, as gaining proper sanctioning for the proposed title fight.
Barrios, 29-2-2 (18 KOs), would enter the third defense of his current reign, should a deal be reached and if the WBC is on board to sanction the fight.
On Monday evening, WBC head Mauricio Sulaiman announced that the sanctioning body would reinstate Garcia, who had been removed after uttering racial slurs on social media.
Garcia, 24-2 (20 KOs), is not currently ranked in any weight division by the WBC. There are not any grounds for the Victorville, California, native to magically enter the top 15; he dropped a lopsided decision to Rolando “Rolly” Romero, 17-2 (13 KOs), in a secondary WBA welterweight title fight on May 2 in New York City.
The bout was the first for Garcia since his controversial clash with Devin Haney in April 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. Garcia badly blew weight for the WBC junior welterweight title fight, then subsequently tested positive for the banned substance ostarine. The development resulted in a one-year suspension issued by the New York State Athletic Commission, which also nullified the original majority decision win for Garcia.
All told, Garcia has not won a fight since a December 2023 knockout over Oscar Duarte, another fight whose weight limit was altered from the original contracted terms prior to fight night. The win over Duarte is Garcia’s only victory over his past four fights; it came eight months after his April 2023 knockout loss to Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
The event with Davis is why Garcia remains in the conversation for any fight in and around the 147lbs division. The two fought in front of a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ticket sales were estimated at $22.8 million, in addition to more than $100 million from 1.2 million PPV units sold.
Conversely, Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao underperformed by most measures. It was enough to express concern while eyeing the possibility of Pacquiao challenging for Romero’s full version of the WBA 147lbs title. The two were once on course for a fight date in late January, but talks were never finalized and it appears that both fighters – and PBC – are onto new business.
As reported by BoxingScene and elsewhere, Pacquiao is now in talks to face fellow Hall of Fame legend Floyd Mayweather in what would be a rematch to their May 2015 blockbuster clash. Should the two reach an accord, the fight would air on Netflix; their original meeting remains the highest-grossing event in boxing history, with more than $600 million generated between the PPV event and the live gate at MGM Grand.
Meanwhile, Romero remains strapped to a mandatory title defense against Shakhram Giyasov, 17-0 (10 KOs), whose team is adamant in forcing the fight. The two sides have until November 13 to reach terms for the overdue mandatory, which Romero inherited when he was upgraded to full from WBA “World” titlist.
It paints a grim picture for the prospects of Romero-Pacquiao moving forward – but now opens the door for Barrios-Garcia, pending resolution of all external issues.
