DISCIPLINE AT LAST: HOW RYAN GARCIA CONQUERED THE SCALES AHEAD OF BARRIOS TITLE CLASH
Ryan Garcia clears the WBC 7-day weight check at 149.4 lbs! Get the full report on his Las Vegas title fight against Mario Barrios.
Ryan Garcia made sure to check every box before his big title shot. He didn’t just play by the rules; he stayed well under the safety weight limit at his seven-day check-in ahead of his fight with WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios.
Both guys sent in video proof of their weight on Saturday, exactly a week before their February 21 DAZN main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Barrios came in at 150.6 pounds, easily under the 152-pound cap (that’s 3 per cent over the 147-pound limit). Garcia was even lighter, hitting 149.4 on the scale that evening.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman posted both results on social media right after they came in.
If you look back a bit, Garcia was almost five pounds lighter this time compared to his 14-day check-in, where he weighed 154. 2. The catch? He missed that earlier deadline by more than three days and got slapped with a $5,000 fine. The WBC warned that another slip-up would go public and get reported to the commission. Nothing like that happened this time, though both fighters were on point with their submissions.
Barrios, for his part, was right on schedule for the 14-day check, weighing 153, safely within the limit.
Now, with all the official pre-fight weight checks out of the way, both men can focus on Friday’s weigh-in.
Barrios is coming in as the full WBC welterweight champ, making his third defence. He’s held some version of the belt since beating Yordenis Ugas by a wide decision last September. He’s coming off two straight twelve-round draws: first with Abel Ramos in a wild fight last November, then with Manny Pacquiao last July at the MGM Grand.
As for Garcia, this will be his first shot at a full world title. He’s finally getting his chance after missing weight for his scheduled fight with Devin Haney for the WBC 140-pound belt back in April 2024. That whole episode got even messier when Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, a banned substance. He got a year-long suspension, and his majority decision over Haney was overturned to a no-contest.
Since then, Garcia has fought just once, losing on points to Rolando “Rolly” Romero after getting knocked down early in their secondary WBA welterweight title fight in New York.
Saturday marks Garcia’s return to Vegas for the first time since his huge non-title bout with Gervonta Davis in April 2023. That night ended in heartbreak. Davis stopped him in the seventh, but the event itself was a massive hit at the box office.
Everyone’s hoping Garcia brings that same energy to this fight.
There’s a twist this time, though. Joe Goossen, who trained Garcia for the Davis fight, is now in Barrios’s corner as head coach. Garcia will be sticking with his dad, Henry Garcia, his original trainer.
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
