Mario Barrios appeared dumbfounded when he was initially informed that Gervonta Davis was interested in facing him. Though he respected his all-around skills, Davis had yet to compete at 140-pounds. Still, regardless of his ambitions, Barrios openly accepted the Baltimore native’s challenge.
The two would officially throw down on June 26th, 2021, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. While they fought on mostly even terms, the pernicious knockout power of his man proved to be too much as Barrios succumbed via 11th-round stoppage.
Hell-bent on returning to the win column, Barrios (26-2, 17 KOs) brazenly ditched the super lightweight division in search of greener pastures at 147-pounds. But despite his objective, Barrios would come up woefully short against Keith Thurman earlier this year.
With back-to-back defeats now plastered permanently onto his record, Barrios has been spotted working tirelessly on his craft. While the 27-year-old would be the first to admit that he hasn’t performed up to his lofty expectations as of late, he recently divulged that his desire to return to boxing’s summit is at an all-time high.
“I’m hungrier than ever,” said Barrios during a recent interview with the San Antonio Spurs.
As Barrios continues in his attempts to shore up the weaknesses in his game, he thinks back to one of the finer moments in his career.
Long before officially turning pro in 2013, Barrios promised his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, that he would eventually drape world title gold around his shoulders, something he would accomplish in 2019.
Now, forced to rebuild his once-promising career from scratch, Barrios reveals that his need to regain his championship status is fueling him like no other.
“I promised San Antonio a world title a few years back and I was able to bring one. I intend to do that again.”