Ryan Garcia faces ‘do or die moment’ against Mario Barrios

As one of the most exciting, dynamic and often enigmatic superstars in the sport of boxing, Ryan Garcia typically walks to the beat of his own drum, which can often create opportunities that others don’t receive. 

Take for instance the fact that Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs), who has never won a scheduled fight at 147 pounds and is fresh off of a lifeless defeat to WBA welterweight titleholder Rolando Romero last May, will challenge for Mario Barrios’ WBC title on Saturday when the two meet in a headlining fight (DAZN PPV, 7:55 p.m. ET) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

Garcia, 27, isn’t just entering the fight against Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) following a loss, he’s also not that far removed from serving a one-year suspension for a failed a drug test following his 2024 win over Devin Haney (that later became a no contest), which led to his life publicly spiraling out of control amid drug use, a mental health episode and a series of racist rants on social media. 

One thing Garcia, besides his massive following on social media that features nearly 13 million followers on Instagram alone, has going for him is that when he’s mentally present and prepared to fight, he has an almost electrifying combination of power and speed that is a potential problem for any elite foe. 

“When I’m at the top of my game,” Garcia told CBS Sports on Tuesday, “I don’t think anyone can really mess with me.”

The hardest part for anyone, from Garcia’s fans and critics to Barrios, himself, is trying to figure out which version of “King Ryan” is going to walk through that door considering how many big moments in his career (when he got up off the canvas to knock out Luke Campbell in 2021) were immediately followed by low points (when he sat idle for more than a year battling mental health). 

Ryan Garcia’s last five fights

For the record, Garcia believes there are justifiable reasons behind his poor performance against Romero (quickly referencing potential dark energy within the venue), he’s just not willing to expand on them. And if his recent interviews are any indication, Garcia’s behavior has seemingly alternated on the day between being a calm presence and a much more manic one, which only fuels his unpredictability, mostly because of how often he attempts mental warfare on his opponents.

“Most people don’t know shit about boxing and I know a lot of people don’t know anything about me,” Garcia said. “There are reasons why and I could explain them for the last performance I had but I’m not going to go into that. I feel like on Saturday, you are going to see something special from me. You are going to see a Ryan Garcia classic. That’s it.”

Barrios, a 30-year-old native of San Antonio, enters as a firm betting underdog following his own string of uneven performances. For as great as he looked in retiring Yordenis Ugas in 2023 to claim the WBC interim title, both of his full title defenses have ended in frustrating draws, including against a 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao last July. 

But even Barrios has had a difficult time trying to identify what to expect from Garcia.

“It’s hard to say, really, where exactly he is at,” Barrios told CBS Sports last week. “I just have to prepare as if I have a focused Ryan in front of me, as they are saying. Everything else is kind of just background noise. We have to look at Ryan when he has been at his best and has looked extraordinary and just picture and imagine that is who we will be facing. Whatever version shows up, if it’s any less, that’s going to be for him to answer.

“I just feel like when Ryan faces adversity, he doesn’t make the necessary adjustments and with this fight, I’m looking to go in there and exploit all of his weaknesses. I want to make him uncomfortable, I want to test his heart and test how bad he really wants to be in there.”

Garcia is well aware both of those who believe he doesn’t deserve the title fight and those who question whether he can ever look as good again as he did in dropping Haney three times under the cloud of testing positive for ostarine. 

Forever the troll, however, Garcia’s demeanor transformed from quiet confidence to theatrical disruptor when asked what the impact of a potential comeback stoppage win for him over Barrios would have on the boxing community at large.

“‘Oh no, he’s back! Oh no, he’s really becoming what we didn’t want him to become, the face of boxing. Oh no!'” Garcia said while mimicking his critics. “They are going to be real sad, the haters. But I’m just happy because I think I’m at a time in my life where I’m positioned to really represent what it means to be a champion and I can’t wait to have that strap around my waist and hold it proudly and fight people that people expect me to fight and be a great champion.”

True to his nature of always seeking big fights (which includes a 2023 loss to Gervonta Davis that produced more than 1 million PPV buys), Garcia already has a target lined up next in his sights in the form of Shakur Stevenson, should he defeat Barrios. The 28-year-old Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) is just shy of three weeks removed from winning a title in a fourth weight division by widely outpoint Teofimo Lopez to capture the WBO belt at 140 pounds. 

Garcia was anything but impressed by Stevenson’s performance and is confident that the two can meet next at a catchweight of 144 pounds (without the rehydration clause Davis used on Garcia). 

“[Stevenson] controlled range really well and picked his shots. We give him credit for that but there was really nothing special for me that really catches my eye,” Garcia said. “He didn’t really throw his left hand, he didn’t finish [Lopez] off. You had a hurt little animal there that you could’ve just [finished] anytime you wanted but he played it safe every step of the way. That’s just not how I fight. When I am beating someone up and they are pretty much done, you are going to see me take them out. 

“That’s just that simple but I’ve got that killer instinct. I guess you just have it or you don’t and [Shakur] doesn’t have it. So, when we step into that ring, he will feel the difference. That’s who I want, for sure, sooner rather than later.”

Garcia, who will be cornered by his father Henry, has used the fallout of former trainer Joe Goossen joining forces for this fight with Barrios as an opportunity, including at the introductory press conference, to stir the pot and attempt to get inside Barrios’ head. But separate from those type of theatrics, all signs have pointed to Garcia taking the fight very seriously because of how much he realizes a consecutive defeat would hurt his future options. 

Not only does Garcia believe he’s the better fighter, he thinks the many wars Barrios has taken part in have slowly caught up with him. But regardless of the potential resistance applied by Barrios, Garcia has very much deemed this as a “do or die moment” for his career.    

“This is one of those moments or opportunities that I don’t think I can get again, especially coming off of a loss. I feel like my back is against the wall, Garcia said. “I’m just that guy. I’m just him. I don’t think I’m a good guy or a bad guy, I think I’m just me. I’m competitive and I really want to win this bad, really bad. You are going to see a ferocious animal in the ring on Saturday night.”