A proposed fight between current WBC welterweight champion, Mario Barrios (29-2-2) and Ryan Garcia (24-2-1) has finally been made official for Feb. 21, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to a recent
report from Ring Magazine.
Garcia is coming off unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Rolando Romero in May 2025, putting him at 1-2-1 in his last four fights, so you can see why some eyebrows were raised when talks of a title fight initially surfaced in Nov. 2025. Prior to his upset defeat at the hands of Rolly, “King Ry’s” dominant win over Devin Haney was overturned to a No Contest (NC) after he failed pre and post-fight drug tests, which resulted in a one-year suspension. That bout was initially set to be for Haney’s WBA regualr welterweight title but Garcia was ineligible to win the bout after coming on heavy for the bout, further compounding his issues.
Nevertheless, after WBC lifted an imposed ban on Garcia after he was caught using racial slurs aimed at Muslims and African Americans, Garcia is now ready to put his troubled past behind him and attempt to capture another world title.
Barrios, meanwhile, fought to a draw in his last two contests against Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos. Before those two draws he was on a three-fight win streak, which was preceded by back-to-back defeats at the hands of Gervonta Davis (see it here) and Keith Thurman. “El Azteca” aims to get back into the winner’s circle with a huge win over one of the more popular fighters in the game today.
Care to offer your prediction for this hard-hitting affair?
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