The expected clash between WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios and Ryan Garcia has been officially announced.
Barrios vs. Garcia is set for February 21 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show will stream on DAZN, available both as a standalone pay-per-view and included for subscribers of the streaming service’s “Ultimate” package.
Barrios, 29-2-2 (18 KOs), picked up the interim WBC belt at 147lbs in 2023 with a wide decision over former WBA titleholder Yordenis Ugas. He went on to outpoint Fabian Maidana before being upgraded to the primary WBC titleholder in the wake of Terence Crawford’s departure from the division.
Both of Barrios’ defenses have been successful, though both have also been draws. He came up even with Abel Ramos on the November 2024 undercard of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, and had the same result against a comebacking 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao this past July.
Barrios’ two defeats occurred back-to-back against Gervonta “Tank” Davis via 11th-round TKO at junior welterweight in 2021 and a wide decision against Keith Thurman at welterweight in 2022.
Garcia, 24-2 (20 KOs), is returning from a lackluster loss to Rolando “Rolly” Romero this past May in a bout with a secondary WBA welterweight belt on the line; Romero has since been upgraded to the primary WBA titleholder. Garcia’s other defeat came against Davis via seventh-round body-shot knockout in 2023.
His best performance between those two defeats was tainted from the start and further sullied afterward. Garcia came in massively overweight for a junior welterweight title fight with Devin Haney in 2024, won a majority decision, and then tested positive afterward for a banned performance-enhancing drug. The result was ultimately nullified and Garcia was suspended for a year.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
