Sports
Barry McGuigan delivers verdict on Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia: “That’s his issue”
Barry McGuigan has highlighted a major problem that Ryan Garcia must address ahead of his clash with WBC world champion Mario Barrios.
The pair will square off at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on February 21, with Barrios making a third defence of his green and gold welterweight strap.
Having previously drawn with Abel Ramos and a 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao, it must be said that the 30-year-old has hardly established himself as the top dog at 147lbs.
But even so, the sheer work rate of Barrios could represent a key factor against Garcia, whose sporadic activity and lack of discipline in recent years has seemingly become a point of concern.
The cracks first started to show when Garcia, following a truly bizarre build-up to his showdown with Devin Haney, came in over 3lbs above the super-lightweight limit in April 2024.
After that, ‘King Ry’ floored his man three times and claimed a majority decision victory, which was later overturned to a no-contest due to him testing positive for ostarine, a performance-enhancing substance.
Then, following his year-long ban, Garcia returned against Rolando Romero last May and suffered a unanimous decision defeat after getting dropped in the second round.
According to Hall of Famer McGuigan, the 27-year-old has lacked professionalism since his seventh round stoppage defeat to Gervonta Davis in 2023.
Additionally, the Irish boxing legend has highlighted in his column for The Mirror that, against Barrios, Garcia must rely on more than just his talent.
“Garcia’s talent is not in question; his professionalism has been the issue. He impressed me so much when he fought Luke Campbell five years ago. His hand speed and left hook were exceptional.
“Back then, his future seemed assured. [But] he is the perfect example that natural ability is never enough. After the defeat to Gervonta Davis in early 2023, everything unravelled.
“He failed to make weight against Devin Haney, was subsequently banned for testing positive for a prohibited substance then lost comprehensively to Romero.
“A dedicated Garcia can still be great for the sport. But he hasn’t been that since the Davis defeat.”
Garcia produced arguably a career-best performance when he survived an early knockdown to stop Campbell, an Olympic gold medallist, in the seventh round of their lightweight encounter in 2021.
