Opinions and Observations: Barrios-Garcia

In the opening seconds of Saturday's Mario Barrios-Ryan Garcia welterweight title fight, Garcia, the noted left-hooker, uncorked two menacing lead right hands to drop Barrios. Throughout his career, Garcia had often been so left-hand dominant that he had fights where his right hand was just an unnecessary appendage to his body. But there he was on Saturday, not just throwing rights, but delivering them with spite and confidence. 

While many of us might have been shocked by how Garcia started the fight, Barrios’ trainer, Joe Goossen, who used to work with Garcia, wasn't one of them. During the DAZN broadcast, Chris Mannix asked Goossen about Garcia's lead rights and Goossen said that he had expected Garcia to come out leading with them, that Garcia would think that he was springing the element of surprise. Furthermore, Goossen stated that he had prepared Barrios for such a scenario. 

As for further confirmation, when Mannix asked Barrios after the fight, which Garcia won by a wide decision, if Garcia's right hands surprised him, Barrios reiterated that he had prepared for those shots in camp. 

Garcia (left) in a dominant position
Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

These telling exchanges illustrate Garcia's skillset. Despite an opponent preparing for what's coming, Garcia could still land, and with devastating consequences. 

A similar scenario occurred during Garcia's win over Devin Haney, which was changed to a no-contest after Garcia failed a post-fight drug test. In that fight, Haney was well-aware of Garcia's prowess with his left hook. Just like the Barrios bout, within the first round Haney was hurt badly by the punch; he was subsequently dropped by left hooks several times in the fight. 

Garcia has demonstrated throughout his career that when he's on, it may not matter what an opponent can do defensively; Garcia's speed, power and delivery system can be that impressive. 

But there is also another factor in play. An early knockdown can spook an opponent, leading to inaction or forcing him to make subsequent mistakes. This same dynamic played out in Garcia's previous fight, a loss against Rolly Romero. In that bout, Garcia was dropped early by a left hook and for the rest of the fight he was unable to let his hands go. He was so bothered by Rolly's left hook that he kept his best weapon, his own left hook, holstered. 

On Saturday, Garcia's knockdown led to a deer-in-the-headlights performance from Barrios. Instead of being aggressive or using angles to attack, he stood, compliantly, at mid-range, waiting for Garcia to do something. Barrios isn't a natural counterpuncher and yet he was so concerned with what might come back at him that he was reluctant to initiate. 

There were other issues with Barrios as well. A telling sequence during the ninth round highlighted a major weakness in his game. At that point in the fight, Barrios already needed a knockout to win, and this had been explicitly relayed to him by Goossen in his corner. During the round, Barrios had one of his rare successful forays on the inside, where he landed several body shots. But instead of staying in close and continuing to fire off power punches, he decided to leave the pocket, go back to mid-range, and reset. 

That sequence would have been perfectly acceptable in the first round of a fight, where he got some work done and then got out of range to take a breather. But in the ninth round, after being way down on the cards, this is where he needed to pounce on Garcia. But Barrios refused to engage in that type of fight. 

Even when the mid-range wasn't working, Barrios still retreated to that distance. Essentially, he didn't have enough in his toolbox to try to win a fight another way. The situation called for Barrios to rough Garcia up, to riddle his body, to try to make it a dogfight. That would have been his only chance at that point of the fight, but Barrios couldn't or wouldn't do it. 

Garcia celebrates the victory
Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

With the win, Garcia earned his first world title. And it's worth noting that this performance was far more than just an early-round surprise: it was a comprehensive victory. He looked as good as he ever has at the world-level, with significant improvements in punch variety, defense and conditioning. 

Garcia's career has been anything but a linear progression. Despite a 25-2 record as a pro, he's had several poor performances, a knockout loss, fights where he was left hook-or-bust, bouts where his work rate was abominable, instances where his defensive mistakes and poor footwork would make even novices cringe. So often his occasional flashes of power and hand speed have saved him in fights. But Saturday was something different; he had almost everything working. 

For the first time in what seemed like ages, Garcia unleashed his full punch arsenal, which included lead right hands, right uppercuts, hooks to the head and body, and jabs. Garcia's defense was also not a liability. He didn't get hit with too many naked shots and one would have to strain very hard to think of a signature punch that Barrios landed in the fight. 

For this fight Ryan reunited with his father, Henry, to be his lead trainer. And Henry made a lasting impact. He had Ryan working throughout the match. Garcia contested every round and didn't take any of those prolonged breaks that have plagued him in the past. He was switched on all fight and wasn't lazy with his offense. 

Although it's true that Barrios didn't offer much on Saturday, it's also true that Garcia demonstrated that he was levels above a reigning beltholder. There will be tougher matches to come for Garcia, but for now he has reminded the boxing world, and himself, that when he's right, both physically and mentally, he's a real threat in the upper reaches of the sport. Saturday was a great step forward for Garcia's career and earned him millions more for his upcoming fights against his pick of opponents. A comprehensive victory indeed!  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Panel, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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Opinions and Observations: Davis-Garcia

Even though Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Ryan Garcia entered Saturday's matchup with a similar number of fights – 28 for Tank and 23 for Garcia – it became obvious that there was a master-student dynamic in the ring. In the two most pivotal moments of the fight, Tank's knockdown in the second round and his KO in the seventh, Tank, like a wise old sage, exploited Garcia's reckless aggression in short order, sending the pupil to the canvas twice. 

Both instances followed periods of success for Garcia. And as Ryan landed more shots, he pressed what he perceived as an advantage, but ultimately, the master punished his student for overconfidence. 

Davis landing a straight left
Photo courtesy of Esther Lin

In the second round Garcia landed a series of cuffing right hands in close range. He continued to go on attack and overshot a wild left hook. The shot left him wildly out of position. Tank adeptly pivoted and countered with a blistering short left to the head that dropped Garcia.

That knockdown spooked Garcia. He was chastened. He was unwilling to take chances or let his hands go in a meaningful way during the third, fourth and fifth.  

But by the sixth round, Garcia had regathered himself and felt comfortable going on the offensive again. He landed several hard right hands to the head. As the seventh started, Garcia continued his aggressive forays, attacking Tank with power shots. And as he lunged forward with a combination, Tank snuck in a perfectly placed left to the body as Garcia's arms were extended and his body unprotected. Garcia actually landed his right hand as the final punch of the exchange, but the pain from Tank's left started to circulate throughout his body. He took a step back. He dropped to a knee. He couldn't beat Thomas Taylor's ten-count.  

Tank-Garcia will not be remembered for its round-by-round entertainment value. Although the fight was intriguing on strategic and technical levels, the punch volume from both was meager. There were prolonged periods of inaction, where both fighters were unwilling to throw punches. But the fight did provide a vital, conclusive ending. It also crystalized important points about two of the most significant American boxing attractions. 

First, Tank confirmed his status as a master counterpuncher. He exploited split-second opportunities that demonstrated superior technical skills, self-confidence and clear mental processing. Many fighters would have immediately retreated into a defensive shell when Garcia unfurled his menacing left hook, but Tank stood his ground, slipped the punch, and executed his counter left with ruthless proficiency.  

Similarly, when Garcia charged forward in the seventh after having sustained success in the previous round, many fighters would have gone into self-protection mode to take the steam off Ryan's combination. But Tank instinctively recognized an opportunity; he fired the perfect short counter in a tight window. The punch was so precise and sneaky that a replay was needed to grasp its perfection. These were masterful boxing moves.  

As for Garcia, he admitted after the fight that he had tried to force the action too much. Even though his trainer Joe Goossen had wanted Ryan to fight more responsibly, Ryan ignored that advice and went after Tank, to his own detriment. Garcia lacked the emotional maturity to understand the risks involved in the fight. He was too overeager to impress, to put his signature stamp on the fight, to be the alpha dog.  

In theory Saturday's result could be a great learning opportunity for Garcia. He should now realize that his technical flaws can jeopardize his career. He paid massively for overcommitting, for falling out of position and for running into traps.  

However, until he understands that he must be more adaptable in his fighting style, it's very likely that we will see similar outcomes against top opponents. He has to be able to win fights in different ways. Who's to say what would have happened if Garcia decided to box Davis at range all fight? Yes, the bout might have been boring and maybe Tank would have eventually gotten to him, but Ryan wouldn't have been hitting the canvas in the second round and rendered ineffective until the sixth. Goossen thought that Ryan needed to be more contained to have success, but Ryan had other ideas. 

Garcia has to learn that momentary mistakes can have massive consequences. And not all of these mistakes are technical in nature. Some of them involve his decision-making process: when to engage and when to bide time. 

Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

Meanwhile, Tank's knockout show marches on. With an almost inconceivable 27 knockouts in 29 fights, Davis is one of the true killers in the sport. I do look at his punch stat numbers with some concern though. As he faces better competition, it's likely that more of his fights will go the distance. And in 12-round fights, Tank's punch volume can be problematic for winning rounds. Judges just aren't going to give a guy a lot of credit when he throws under ten punches a round. Ten punches a round is a punch every 18 seconds. That's a long time! 

Tank's lack of activity explains why none of the judges awarded him a 10-8 round in the second even though he scored a knockdown. He only threw six punches the entire round. That's one punch every 30 seconds! He just wasn’t doing enough.  

At boxing's highest level, it's fine margins that can make the difference. Garcia found out the hard way what happens when he lunges in with shots and ignores the advice of a seasoned trainer. And perhaps Davis will realize one day that every point matters. Imagine if a fight goes to the scorecards and he loses or draws because he didn't get a 10-8 round where he scores a knockdown. Winning rounds matters and Tank must find a way to be busier, to make it harder for judges to give rounds to his opponents. 

But all of that is for another day. 

In facing one of the toughest tests of his career, Tank passed with flying colors and demonstrated that he belongs at the graduate level; Garcia still needs to repeat his current grade. Ultimately, if a fighter makes a mistake, Tank will punish him. That's his calling card. He exploits weaknesses. He takes out lesser talents and exposes their flaws. Davis only needs a couple moments, a brief, fleeting opportunity to cause maximum damage.  

It's going to take a special talent to beat Tank: one who can stay within himself, fight intelligently, not get too caught up in the moment, offer punch volume while minimizing return risk. There aren't many of those boxers in the sport. And that's the central problem when facing Davis. A fighter will have to be close to perfect to beat him, and perfection is seldom seen in the ring. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

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