Despite being winless since 2023, Ryan Garcia seems poised to challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title and former champion of the division, Tim Bradley, has offered his prediction for the potential fight.
King Ry’s last official victory came against Oscar Duarte back in December 2023 in the super-lightweight division, overcoming the Mexican via round eight stoppage.
Since then he has been surrounded by controversy, having a triumph over Devin Haney overturned to a no-contest due to a failed drugs test, before a surprise defeat to WBA champion Rolando Romero upon his welterweight debut back in May.
Nevertheless, recent rumours suggest that the Californian will be granted another shot at claiming a first world title, with a formal announcement for his showdown with Barrios seemingly around the corner.
In an interview with FightHype, two-division conqueror Bradley explained why he believes Barrios could retain his belt.
“He [Garcia] is going to need a better performance [than last time out], because if he brings that type of performance into the ring with Barrios, Barrios is going to eat him up. It is going to be easy work.
“I notice one thing about Garcia; he doesn’t like power. Does Barrios have enough power in his shots to keep Garcia honest? That is what I worry about and, if Garcia land that left hook, can Barrios take it? Because that seems to be an issue for Barrios, upstairs and downstairs, the left-hook.
“It’s an interesting fight; it’s not a foregone conclusion that Garcia is going to just walk through a guy like Barrios. Barrios has got a lot of experience, he wants to hold on to that strap, he has a lot of confidence and ability, coming off that draw with Manny Pacquiao.
“Right now, I favour Barrios in this fight. I know a lot of people favour Garcia, but I favour Barrios, he has got a good jab, good fundamentals, good boxing IQ. I think that he is the more complete fighter.”
The Barrios vs Garcia bout is anticipated to take place during the first quarter of 2026, now that the WBC have lifted their ban on Garcia, thus permitting him to fight for their title.
