Ryan Garcia delivered perhaps the most complete performance of his career, knocking down Mario Barrios early and earning a lopsided decision to win the WBC welterweight title.

LAS VEGAS — Ryan Garcia finally achieved the only thing that had eluded him in his professional career: a world championship.

García (25-2, 20 KO’s) knocked down Mario Barrios with the first two blows he threw in the fight and easily won by unanimous decision to become the new WBC welterweight champion. It was a brilliant display of speed and power from Garcia, who put in arguably the most complete performance of his career, dominating the scorecards with scores of 119-108, 120-107 and 118-109.

THE CROWNING MOMENT FOR KING RYAN 👑

The Ring: High Stakes is LIVE NOW on DAZN 📺 pic.twitter.com/WyS1PXc5zA

— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) February 22, 2026

Garcia showed another side to his game, relying heavily on his right hand instead of his famous left hook to pummel Barrios around the ring throughout the fight. He surprised Barrios from the start of the fight, connecting with him with a pair of right hands that sent him to the canvas.

From there, Barrios simply couldn’t understand where the blows were coming from or when, as Garcia pummeled him with a variety of blows to the head and body. When Barrios thought a left hook was coming, García landed a right hand, a jab or a left hook to the body. The sheer variety and breakneck speed forced Barrios to withdraw into himself for most of the fight, following Garcia around the ring and unable to land his usual high number of punches.

The only thing that could have saved Barrios from being knocked out was Garcia injuring his right hand in the fight. Still, it was one of Garcia’s best moments in his professional career, and he finally lived up to the high expectations placed on him when he turned pro a decade ago.

Garcia, 27, was coming off a couple of tough years, with a 1-2 record and a No Contest. Between his losses to Gervonta Davis and Rolly Romero, Garcia’s career suffered a blow when his majority decision victory over Devin Haney in 2024 it was rescinded due to a positive drug test resulting in a one-year suspension.

While his stardom remained intact, Garcia’s tactics in and out of the ring have been mired in controversy, with an arrest in June 2024 for allegedly causing an estimated $15,000 in damage to a room at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills and an expulsion from the WBC a month later after repeatedly using racial slurs against black people and disparaging Muslims in a live broadcast on social media.

Still, Garcia found himself in a position to challenge for a world title once the WBC reinstated him and took the opportunity to dismember Barrios with ease. Although he came into the fight as champion, Barrios (29-3-2, 18 KOs) had a record of 0-0-2 in his previous two fights, with draws against Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos.

While those fights were competitive, the fight with Garcia was not. Barrios couldn’t match his speed, use his hitting volume or accomplish anything that would make García reconsider his approach. Barrios turned to the services of Joe Goossen, who previously trained García. But even with someone familiar with García offering him instruction, Barrios couldn’t raise his game to the level of his opponent.

Although Garcia eased off the gas in the final rounds, the finish was never in doubt as he took the victory with his hand raised.

Garcia subsequently requested a fight against current WBO 140-pound champion, Shakur Stevensonwhich would be one of the most important fights of the year.