Garcia dominates Barrios to win 1st world title

For the first time in his career, Ryan Garcia is a world champion.

Garcia dominated Mario Barrios to capture the WBC welterweight title Saturday night, earning a unanimous decision victory at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The judges scored the fight 119-108, 120-107, and 118-109 in Garcia's favor.

Garcia outclassed Barrios from start to finish. He set the tone with a knockdown in the opening 30 seconds, dropping Barrios with a huge right hand. He went on to outland Barrios 185-106 in total punches and 103-43 in power shots.

Surprisingly, Garcia's right hand was a major factor in the fight. He stunned Barrios early in the fifth round with another right and then unleashed a barrage of punches.

With the victory, not only did Garcia earn his first world championship - he also rebounded from a disappointing loss to Rolly Romero last May at Times Square in New York.

The 28-year-old is now 2-1 (1 NC) in his past four appearances and 25-2 (1 NC) as a professional.

In his postfight interview, Garcia said he wants to take on Shakur Stevenson next. Stevenson beat Teofimo Lopez Jr. last month to claim the WBO junior welterweight championship. He was ringside and also expressed interest in the matchup.

"Shakur Stevenson, let's go," Garcia said. "Let's run that shit. Hey, I want to be a great champion. I'm not scared of shit. ... Let's f-----g go."

Barrios had held the WBC welterweight title since June 2024 and was coming off a majority draw against boxing legend Manny Pacquiao last July. The 30-year-old fell to a career 29-3-2 with the loss.