Ryan Garcia delivered one of the most impressive performances of his career this weekend. The American star defeated Mario Barrios by unanimous decision at The Ring: High Stakes event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Garcia started fast and never looked back. He dropped Barrios within seconds of the opening round. From that moment, he controlled the pace of the fight and dominated the exchanges to claim the WBC welterweight title.
The judges scored the bout clearly in Garcia’s favor after 12 rounds. With this win, Garcia has improved his record to 25-2. He has now reignited the talk of a rematch with Devin Haney. While many fans and experts praised his speed and sharp punching, celebrity boxer Nurideen Shabazz, known as ‘Deen The Great,’ dismissed the victory. He claimed that Garcia barely deserved the win and criticized his overall performance.
Deen The Great slams Ryan Garcia despite his dominant win over Mario Barrios
Ryan Garcia looked sharp from the first bell. He landed a powerful shot early that sent Mario Barrios to the canvas. The defending champion appeared shaken. For much of the fight, Barrios struggled to find his rhythm. Garcia used quick footwork and clean combinations. He continued to land accurate punches and kept Barrios on the defensive end.
By the final round, the result seemed obvious. The judges awarded Garcia a wide unanimous decision. The victory earned him the WBC welterweight title and strengthened calls for a second fight with Devin Haney.
However, not everyone agreed with the praise. Nurideen Shabazz, "Deen the Great", took to social media platform X to share his opinion. In his post, he suggested that Ryan Garcia did not truly dominate and described his performance as unimpressive. He even went as far as calling Garcia “trash” and implied that the fight was much closer than people believe.
Notably, Shabazz, who holds a 7-1 record in celebrity boxing, has also faced controversy recently. He was reportedly slapped by fitness personality Larry Wheels after making inappropriate comments about Wheels’ wife. In another incident, he was knocked down by former UFC fighter Tiki Ghosn following a heated exchange. Most recently, Shabazz suffered a unanimous decision loss to Amado Vargas in December.
Despite Shabazz’s criticism, Ryan Garcia’s performance against Mario Barrios has widely been viewed as a statement victory.