Mario Barrios puts his WBC welterweight world boxing championship title on the line for a marquee fight against Ryan Garcia in the coming days.
El Azteca arguably has one of the best walk-outs of all combat sports but the 30-year-old will be doubly determined to out-smart KingRy on the night because Barrios, bizarrely, hasn’t actually beaten anybody since his May 4, 2024 decision win over Fabian Maidana. Since then, he’s scored draws against Abel Ramos on Netflix, and Manny Pacquiao in another tentpole.
Barrios had been linked with a rematch against Pacquiao, but PacMan’s manager Sean Gibbons poo-pooed the notion, telling Boxing Social and other reporters at the time last year that his fighter deserved better. While Pacquiao now takes part in an exhibition alongside Ruslan Provodnikov, Barrios heads into another marquee headliner — this time against Garcia.
The flashy-fisted 27-year-old is one of the sport’s best-known fighters because of his extraordinary social media following, and the fact he never seems too far from controversy.
In his last four fights, Garcia has lost to Gervonta Davis by brutal body shot, bounced back with a brilliant win over Oscar Duarte, and completely bamboozled Devin Haney but was slapped with a retroactive No Contest after he failed a drug test. He then returned last summer and lost to a disciplined Rolando Romero in a lopsided L.
The fight is a solid one and could be one of the more challenging fights to predict based off the unpredictable nature of their respective runs. Barrios has even said he’s identified flaws in Garcia, helped, no doubt, by recruiting his opponent’s former coach, Joe Goossen. For those reasons alone, let alone other compelling ones, it is likely enough to tune in.
Barrios vs Garcia fight time
- Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026
- Main Card Starts: 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 a.m. GMT
- Main Event Ring Walks (Approx): 8 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 a.m. GMT
The broadcast for the main card begins 5 p.m. local time (PT). This means 8 p.m. for those on ET, and 1 a.m. on GMT. To make things easier, we’ve put the global fight times below.
| Region | City | Main Card Starts | Ring Walks (Approx) |
| US & Canada (Local) | Las Vegas / Vancouver | 5:00 PM PT | 8:00 PM PT |
| US & Canada (Eastern) | New York / Toronto | 8:00 PM ET | 11:00 PM ET |
| UK & Ireland (GMT) | London / Dublin | 1:00 AM GMT | 4:00 AM GMT |
| Central Europe | Berlin / Madrid | 2:00 AM CET | 5:00 AM CET |
| Australia (Sunday) | Sydney / Melbourne | 12:00 PM AEDT Sunday | 3:00 PM AEDT Sunday |
| New Zealand (Sunday) | Auckland | 2:00 PM NZDT Sunday | 5:0O PM NZDT Sunday |
Barrios and Garcia aren’t the only two squaring off at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegsa – below are our picks of the undercards.
- The Co-Main Event: Richardson Hitchins takes on Oscar Duarte in a Matchroom vs Golden Boy battle. Hitchins has long been heralded as a future star but Duarte is as tough an opponent as they come. The fight is Hitchins’s first since toppling George Kambosos, before indicating he was a free agent. He has since clarified to Boxing Social his status with Matchroom.
- Prospect Watch: Amari Jones is one of Golden Boy’s more promising ‘next in line’ type of fighters and, at 15-0, will be under pressure to deliver against Luis Arias in a middleweight fight.
How to watch Barrios vs Garcia live online
The fight is streaming exclusively on DAZN as a pay-per-view in many regions.
- US Fans: Stream live via DAZN on all major devices at a $69.99 price point.
- UK Fans: Stream live via DAZN on all major devices at a £24.99 price point.
What is DAZN?
DAZN is a paid-for service, so if you’re wanting to watch the fight live, you can pick up an annual pass for £119.99 or pay £25.99 monthly. If watching fights is your thing, it may make more sense to opt for the annual pass, and then choose the pay monthly option, bringing the recurring cost down to £15.99.
Barrios vs Garcia tale of the tape
| Fighter Facts | Mario Barrios | Ryan Garcia |
| Nickname | El Azteca | King Ry |
| Nationality | American (San Antonio) | American (Los Angeles) |
| Age | 30 | 27 |
| Height | 6′ 0″ (183 cm) | 5′ 8″ (174 cm) |
| Reach | 71″ (180 cm) | 70″ (178 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Professional Record | 29–2-2 | 24–2 |
| KOs | 18 | 20 |
| KO % | 62% | 83.3% |
| Last 3 Fights | 1–2 (D, D, W) | 1–1-1 (W, NC, L) |
| Current Odds | +175 (Underdog) | -200 (Underdog) |
Fight Records (Last 5 Bouts)
| Fighter | Result | Opponent | Method | Date |
| Mario Barrios | Draw | Manny Pacquiao | MD (12 Rds) | Jul. 19, 2025 |
| Draw | Abel Ramos | SD (12 Rds) | Nov. 15, 2024 | |
| Win | Fabian Maidana | UD (12 Rds) | May 4, 2024 | |
| Win | Yordenis Ugas | UD (12 Rds) | Sept. 30, 2023 | |
| Win | Jovanie Santiago | TKO (Rd 7) | Feb. 11, 2023 | |
| Ryan Garcia | Loss | Rolly Romero | UD (12 Rds) | May 2, 2025 |
| No Contest | Devin Haney | No Contest | Apr. 20, 2024 | |
| Win | Oscar Duarte | KO (Rd 8) | Dec 2, 2023 | |
| Loss | Gervonta Davis | KO (Rd 7) | Apr. 22, 2023 | |
| Win | Javier Fortuna | KO (Rd 6) | Jul. 26, 2022 |
Barrios vs Garcia our prediction
Neither fighter are particularly well-known for their predictability and both have a point to prove Saturday night.
Garcia, you see, desperately needs a big win in his post-positive drug test era, but seemed to have lost a step when fighting Rolly Romero, especially compared to the ease in which he eviscerated Devin Haney.
But Barrios isn’t exactly famous for consistency, either, and and despite sharing the ring with Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman (both losses), he rebounded with wins over Jovanie Santiago and Yordenis Ugas.
But those wins are in the rearview mirror as Barrios has struggled in two fights he arguably should have won — against Ramos, and then Pacquiao.
Rather than predicting one outcome, it’s therefore prudish to back two — and that’s either Garcia knocking Barrios out in a statement, perhaps an up-and-down fight like the one he engaged Luke Campbell in — or Barrios stands up to Garcia’s power, and grinds out a decision. To do so, though, he’ll have to start fast and maintain that pace, as starting sluggish against Pacquiao cost him the win.
- Ryan Garcia to win by KO
- Mario Barrios to win by UD
Closing thoughts
“This is a fight where both men have questions to answer and for different reasons,” writes Boxing Social’s Matthew Lenihan. “In the case of Mario Barrios the majority of the boxing world believe he lost against the aging Manny Pacquiao. A draw against a fighter who hadn’t fought professionally for numerous years wasn’t a good look.
“On the flip side to this he has competed at a decent level and was very competitive in the Gervonta Davis fight until ultimately getting stopped in the 11th round. He has also beaten Yordenis Ugas who had previously beaten Pacquiao so it will be interesting to see what version of Barrios turns up. With Ryan Garcia the narrative will be how serious does he take boxing? Coming off a win which was wiped from his record against Devin Haney and a defeat to Rolando Romero leaves many fans wondering if Ryan can become world champion and compete at the highest level.
“I think the general consensus is that if both fighters turn up somewhere near their best then Ryan would have the edge in terms of ability but many factors above will play a part.”
