Former champion announces weight move after Ryan Garcia loss.
Mario Barrios has had one of the most interesting careers of any world champion in recent times.
Despite having come out of two fights with his WBC welterweight championship, Barrios has never won a 147-pound world title fight.
This is because his first defence ended in a draw against Abel Ramos, and his second defence ended in another draw (that most thought should have been a loss for Barrios) against a 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao.
And in his last fight, Barrios lost his title due to being comprehensively outboxed by Ryan Garcia. As a result, he is now 0-1-2 in his last three and is the subject of more doubters than ever.
Following the loss, Barrios has now announced he will be moving up in weight to the super-welterweight division, where monsters lie.
The 154-pound weight class is widely considered the division most densely packed with talent in all of boxing, with Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Sebastian Fundora, Josh Kelly, Israil Madrimov, Bakhram Murtazaliev, and Serhii Bohachuk just a few that number amongst its ranks.
With all that being said, a successful title run at the weight will not come easily for Barrios. However, there are a number of fun fights he could get involved in with several of the division’s players.
Having fought some of the biggest names in the sport, Barrios’s competition will only get steeper at his new weight. However, provided he fights an opponent with the right style, he could produce some exciting action for the fans yet.
Mario Barrios has announced that he will be moving up to 154lbs following losing his welterweight title to Ryan Garciaš
Can he win a world title at junior middleweight?š
Source: Country Box pic.twitter.com/vttpH9wgCR
ā BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) March 4, 2026
Want to get the latest boxing news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
