Less than 30 seconds into the first round, Garcia landed a sharp right hand to the forehead that dropped Barrios to the canvas. The champion beat the count, but the early takedown shifted the entire fight. From that point forward, Garcia controlled distance with his jab, picking spots with quick combinations and forcing Barrios to reset repeatedly.
Through the middle rounds, Garcia’s speed advantage was clear. He beat Barrios with the fist, circling out of danger and avoiding protracted exchanges. Barrios pressed forward but struggled to cut off the ring or land clean punches in volume. When he did connect, the shots lacked the necessary snap to change momentum.
By the second half, the fight had settled into a predictable pattern. Garcia worked behind a steady jab, mixing in right hands and left hooks, while Barrios followed and absorbed. There were no further takedowns, but Garcia’s cleaner hitting and control built a wide lead on the scorecards. One right hand in the later rounds snapped Barrios’ head back and appeared to damage his nose, although he remained upright.
Barrios fought through all 12 rounds and tried to rally late, but he never found any sustained success. The crowd grew restless as the action slowed and the outcome became clear.
The judges scored the fight 120-107, 119-108 and 118-109, all for Garcia. He improves to 25-2 with 20 knockouts and leaves Las Vegas as the new WBC welterweight champion. Barrios drops to 29-3-2 and loses his title in a performance where he was booed from the opening bell.
Garcia has the belt, but the fight itself offered little excitement after the first minute.
