The undercard for Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia has been finalized, and it will feature two additional world title bouts alongside the main event. Barrios will defend his WBC welterweight title against Garcia on Saturday, February 21 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, marking Garcia’s second straight shot at a world championship.
Garcia enters the fight after falling short in his bid for Rolando Romero’s WBA Regular welterweight title last May, losing on points despite starting as the favourite. The 27-year-old now gets another opportunity at the top level against Barrios, who is aiming to secure a statement win after retaining his belt via draws against Abel Ramos and Manny Pacquiao.
The co-main event will see Richardson Hitchins make the second defense of his IBF super-lightweight world title. The New Yorker will face Oscar Duarte, a former Garcia opponent, who steps into his first world title fight on the back of a four-fight winning streak following his 2023 loss to Garcia.
Also on the card, WBA super-lightweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell is finally set to defend his title against Andy Hiraoka. The bout was ordered by the WBA last April and has twice been cancelled after planned appearances on major cards, leaving Hiraoka inactive since September 2024 while awaiting his shot.
The rest of the lineup sees Frank Martin return against Nahir Albright at super-lightweight, while Bektemir Melikuziev takes on Sena Agbeko at super-middleweight, rounding out a card that now includes three world title contests in Las Vegas.
Image Credit: DAZN