Ryan Garcia and Mario Barrios Meet in Hollywood

Ryan Garcia and Mario Barrios Meet in Hollywood

It was a gray misty day on the streets of Hollywood, a town that prides itself in its duality of grit and fantasy. WBC welterweight titlist Marrio Barrios (29-2-2, 18 Kos) and boxing’s king of social media Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (24-2, 22 Kos)  met face to face. Their differences epitomized the duality of their personas to the frenzied crowd at the Avalon Theater.

Barrios 30, the stoic champion from San Antonio, Texas recently switched trainers and opted for the former coach of Garcia. He is now training in Van Nuys, California after years of polishing his skills in the city of Las Vegas.

Garcia, 29, the mercurial contender from Victorville, Calif. doesn’t hide his emotions or sentiments, nor does he shy away from attention. The popular boxer numbers more than 12 million followers on Instagram alone.

“I was hurt when I found out Joe (Goossen) was going to train Mario Barrios,” said Garcia. “I find that disrespectful.”

Goossen formerly coached Garcia when he prepared to fight Gervonta “Tank” Davis back in 2024. Garcia then moved on to another coach but felt betrayed that his former coach would prepare Barrios to face him.

Garcia pulled out a black t-shirt with white letters emblazoned with the word “Traitor.”

“Things change in boxing,” said Goossen. “Who doesn’t want to train the welterweight world champion.”

For this fight Garcia is relying on his father Henry Garcia who worked his corners during his amateur career that saw him win 15 national titles.

“I know my son better than any coach here,” said Henry.

Regardless of differences, both fighters are meeting on February 21, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada to decide who walks away with the WBC welterweight world title and how walks away with a loss.

Both prizefighters have two losses each. Neither wants another.

Barrios is a cool technician who has shown a willingness to dig deep into the trenches when facing defeat. KingRy is the electrifying talent whose every sentence crackles with excitement and possesses shocking power in his slender frame.

Garcia, despite his quickness and power is looking for his first win since December 2023 when he knocked out Oscar Duarte in the eighth round. Though not desperate, Garcia openly admits a third defeat cannot be tolerated.

Critics are everywhere for both fighters.

Some say Barrios has never impressed but survived against Manny Pacquiao, Abel Ramos and others. Other critics attack Garcia’s seemingly lack of focus because of his constant social media presence.

All questions will be answered next month in Las Vegas.

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