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Philippines, 16 Mar 2026 |
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Barrios vs Garcia: Where Art Thou Ryan Garcia? By Chris Carlson PhilBoxing.com Fri, 20 Feb 2026  It’s do or die for Ryan Garcia heading into a tussle with Mario Barrios on Saturday. Will ‘King’ Ryan sink or swim? This PPV card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and TGB promotions will be live streaming available on DAZN. Lucky for us fans we do get some bang for our buck on the undercard. Gary Antuanne Russell and Frank Martin facing Andy Hiraoka and Nahir Albright. Also, Richardson Hitchins vs Oscar Duarte and Bektemit Melikuziev vs. Sena Agbeko fill out the remaining card on the PPV portion. As soon as boxing folks think a boxer like Ryan Garcia is not to be trusted to perform up to his capabilities, he delivers. In the lead up during fight week for Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney it appeared Ryan wasn’t taking things seriously. Videos surfaced showing Ryan in a New York club enjoying the nightlife in the DJ booth instead of focusing on the task at hand. Only for Garcia to drop Devin Haney three times over 12 rounds. Of course, an asterisk needs to be in place given the failed drug test, missing weight, and it being ruled a no contest. The question must be asked, where art thou Ryan Garcia? Mario Barrios is a good fighter with fundamentals and experience that could serve him well. Barrios hasn’t shown all the much power at 147. At 140, Mario had a long streak of scoring knockdowns and stoppages. Can Barrios use the ring, reach and height, to keep Garcia at the end of his punches? Will Ryan get caught with his chin in the air trying to land his potent left hook? Will Barrios switch stances to keep Garcia guessing? Neither guy comes in red hot in recent outings, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we get a good fight considering both boxers' backs are to the wall in a sense. Barrios is right around +200 on the money line. Garcia by KO is +115 and +220 by decision. Barrios can be had for +380 via decision and +540 by KO. This boxing podcaster's main interest in the headliner revolves around the unknown. My Official Prediction is Ryan Garcia by decision. PODCAST LINK: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rope-a-dope-radio-podcast/id1794655742?i=1000750251517 As far as the Pay-Per-View undercard goes, very intrigued in Gary Antuanne Russell vs Andy Hiraoka. Let’s see how much power Andy has at the top level of junior welterweight. If Andy has enough pop, it will at least somewhat slow down the normally aggressive at times overly aggressive Russell. Head movement and a tight guard will be needed along with a jab or lead punch as Gary Antuanne makes his way inside. Don’t blink; this should deliver for boxing fans. Russell by decision at +132 is the best bet. A late TKO for Russell is on the table as well. My Official Prediction is Gary Antuanne Russell by decision. Richardson Hitchins vs. Oscar Duarte: Hitchins will need to be first, a spot he generally thrives in. His jab and pot shot ability should be too much for Oscar. However, this week we heard lots of talk from Hitchins about standing in the pocket and banging it out. If Oscar is allowed to make this into anything resembling a brawl, it will get dicey for Hitchins. Duarte is a swarming combination puncher. Oscar excels during exchanges and can counterpunch up close. -210 for Richardson by decision is the best bet. My Official Prediction is Richardson Hitchins by decision. Frank Martin vs. Nahir Albright: Nahir is a live dog sitting around +260 all the way up to +290 on some betting books. Albright has only 7 knockouts in 17 wins but has never been stopped and gave highly regarded Keyshawn Davis a completive fight. The times that bout was fought in the middle of the ring a place Martin prefers to do plenty of his work; Albright was finding some success. Nahir has a habit of reaching with his punches which should fall right into Martin’s wheelhouse. After Frank’s first loss as a pro to Gervonta Davis, Martin was out of the ring far too long. Frank did manage to get a win in December so the rust should be all the way off. My Official Prediction is Frank Martin by decision. Side Note: During the afternoon in the states on DAZN, the rematch between Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington is a coin-toss prediction. Warrington was leading on the cards in their first meeting only to get stopped. Also, Ishmael Davis vs. Bilal Fawaz is 50-50. On Sunday Claressa Shields takes on Francho Crews-Dezurn in a rematch dating back to the two-time gold medalist pro debut. My Picks: Wood by ko, Shields by decision, & Davis by decision. Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio Click here to view a list of other articles written by Chris Carlson.  |
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