Ryan Garcia beats Mario Barrios by unanimous decision to win the WBC welterweight title
At A Glance
- LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ryan Garcia, an immensely talented boxer who has gone through his share of personal and professional turmoil in his young career, dominated Mario Barrios on Saturday, Feb. 21, to win by unanimous decision and capture the WBC welterweight championship.
Ryan Garcia celebrates his victory over Mario Barrios. (AP)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ryan Garcia, an immensely talented boxer who has gone through his share of personal and professional turmoil in his young career, dominated Mario Barrios on Saturday, Feb. 21, to win by unanimous decision and capture the WBC welterweight championship.
Garcia (25-2, 20 knockouts) of Victorville, California, left little doubt he deserved the title, with the judges scoring the fight 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109. The Associated Press scored it 119-109.
This was the second underwhelming bout in a row for Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) of San Antonio, who was fortunate to escape with a majority draw victory over Manny Pacquiao last July.
In the co-main event, Gary Antuanne Russell (19-1, 17 KOs) of Capitol Heights, Maryland, retained his WBA super lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Japan’s Andy Hiraoka (24-1, 19 KOs). The judges scored the fight 117-110, 116-111 and 116-111. Hiraoka was penalized a point in the 10th round for delivering a punch below the belt that caused a short stoppage.
Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) of New York was scheduled to defend his IBF super lightweight belt against Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) of Mexico, but pulled out of the fight citing an illness. That bout was supposed to be the co-main event. There was no immediate word on whether Hitchins would forfeit his title for the late cancellation.