Shakur Stevenson has shared his verdict on Ryan Garcia‘s victory over Mario Barrios.
Garcia became world champion for the first time in his career when he defeated Barrios by unanimous decision to capture the WBC welterweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Heading into the bout, many fans saw the match-up as a 50-50 affair, but ‘King Ry’ ensured it went nothing like that as he scored a knockout in the opening moments of the fight and then dominated virtually every round.
Following his victory, Garcia was quick to announce that he is now interested in a showdown against four-weight world champion Stevenson, and it seems the WBO super-lightweight champion was impressed with what he saw from his potential future foe.
Speaking on the DAZN broadcast, Stevenson praised the showing from Garcia, likening it to one of the past displays from ‘King Ry.’
“I think Ryan looked good. He put on a good performance.
I don’t know what Barrios was doing out there. Ryan was looking like the Ryan that beat Devin Haney.”
Garcia had beaten Haney back in April 2024, only for the result to be overturned to a no contest after he failed a drugs test and subsequently received a 12-month ban.
Stevenson has said he would be more than happy to face ‘King Ry’ next, but whilst referencing that past failed test, he insisted that VADA testing would have to be in place for the bout, and also revealed the weight stipulation that he would want.
