Ryan Garcia has successfully bounced back from his loss last year. He dominated WBC champ Mario Barrios over 12 rounds to win his first world title today. Though he dropped Barrios in the very first round, the fight went the full distance with the judges scoring the bout 119-108, 120-107, and 118-109, all in Garcia’s favor. In the end, ‘King Ry’ coasted to a comfortable win.

However, the Victorville native wasn’t done proving his point. Speaking to Chris Mannix during the post-fight interview, the 27-year-old called out Shakur Stevenson for a fight. 

Ryan Garcia reveals why Shakur Stevenson can’t beat him

“You know who I want. He’s right there—Shakur Stevenson,” Garcia told Mannix. “Let’s go. Let’s run that s—t. Hey, I want to be a great champion, and I’m not scared of s—t. I fought Devin Haney. I’ll fight Shakur Stevenson. I’ll fight anybody. Let’s f—king go.”

When Chris Mannix informed Ryan Garcia about Stevenson’s earlier comments during the event—claiming he was levels above Garcia—the Victorville native fired back confidently, building a strong case for why he could pull off the upset.

“The thing is, like you’ve got to have some type of puncher power to get me off you because they would be a different style,” Garcia added. “And I’m not gonna hit him late. Every time I get it, I’m gonna put it on him. I want that fight. Shakur, let’s get it.”

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It was just last year when Rolando Romero shocked the world by defeating ‘King Ry’ via unanimous decision. The loss also derailed a rematch between Garcia and Devin Haney after their first fight was ruled a no-contest due to the Victorville native’s PED violation. 

Earlier this year, it was expected that Garcia would meet Haney, who beat Brian Norman Jr. to become the WBO welterweight champion, for a rematch after the Barrios fight. However, Haney has since refused to face Garcia because the 27-year-old dropped out of VADA testing. 

Still, ‘The Flash’ maintains that he has done no such thing and continues to cooperate with VADA for regular testing. Anyway, this opens up a door for him to face Shakur Stevenson, who defeated Teofimo Lopez recently to win the WBO super lightweight strap. 

Of course, this would mean that either fighter has to move weights or fight at a catch weight. Regardless, if they indeed end up fighting, this won’t be their first. And does Stevenson even want the fight? 

‘Sugar’ Stevenson has revealed the only condition for fighting ‘King Ry’

Having defeated Lopez recently, Stevenson expressed his interest in the matchup. 

“I love the fight,” Stevenson told Ring Magazine. “I think that’s perfect, I think it’ll be a lot of excitement in that fight. It’s a big money fight. Ryan Garcia is somebody who comes in there [and] you never know which version of him is going to show up.”

Stevenson added that no matter which version of Garcia shows up, he will still win. And now that Garcia has handled business against Mario Barrios, it has cleared a major hurdle toward a blockbuster showdown. Stevenson, however, wants the fight to happen on his terms.

“144 Ryan, let’s do it… I’ll be at your fight now, scrub!” Stevenson wrote on X. “Vada will be involved, so don’t run from that.”

The pair’s rivalry dates back to 2013, when Stevenson defeated Garcia on points in the semi-finals of the US Junior National Selection Tournament. And Garcia, of course, has long claimed he was “robbed,” insisting, “I beat him for sure.”

Boxing is starting to feel alive again. Shakur Stevenson is fighting back-to-back big opponents, and Ryan Garcia, as undeserving as his title shot was, won his first belt and came back to the winning column. Are you excited about the potential fight?