High Stakes Final Press Conference
- Miguel Maravilla
- Feb 19
- 5 min read
WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) and Ryan Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) took to the stage for their final press conference as they square off this Saturday night headlining ‘The Ring: High Stakes at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas live on DAZN PPV.
Mario Barrios
On Ryan Garcia getting a lot of attention this fight…
“None of it bothers me. I’m the champion for a reason. I’m not a talker when it comes to all this, but every time I fight I leave it all in the ring.”
On testing Ryan Garcia…
“I want to make him uncomfortable and exploit his weaknesses every round.”
On if Joe Goossen’s knowledge of Ryan helped him train…
“I don’t think you need a personal relationship to know how to get an edge over him [Ryan Garcia].”
Ryan Garcia
On what he thinks Mario Barrios will bring on Saturday night…
“There’s not a lot I haven't seen in the sport of boxing. You never really know what you’re going to get until you step into the ring. For me, I’m just preparing myself as best as I possibly can. So, we just have to wait and see.”
On where he’s at mentally and physically…
“I could do a lot of talking and say I’ve prepared the best I can. You can just look at me and see the shape that I’m in and how I look and have your own opinion on it.”
On Henry Garcia being his trainer again…
“It feels like old times. It feels good to be back with my dad. Technically, we are undefeated together and we’re going to continue the streak.”
On why the world title is important for his father…
“For this championship, it’s going to make my dad’s life. I’m going to hold it with honor and pride. You’re going to see the start of a whole new rise of the King Ryan empire.”
On if Joe Goossen is an advantage for him or Mario Barrios..
“It’s an advantage for me. I know how he’s training and I know how to train even better, because I’ve trained exactly the same with Joe. Joe knows how mean I can be, and come Saturday night, I’m going to be just that.”
IBF super lightweight champion Richardson Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) along with his opponent Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) square off in the co-feature. Also on hand the rest of the undercard fighters Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) will also look to fend off Japan’s Andy Hiraoka (24-0, 19 KOs) in defense of his WBA Super Lightweight title. Kicking off the undercard, Frank Martin (19-1, 13 KOs) and Nahir Albright (17-2, 7 KOs) are set to battle it out in a Super Lightweight bout, while Bektemir Melikuziev (16-1, 10 KOs) and Sena Agbeko (29-4, 23 KOs) face off in a Super Middleweight battle.
Richardson Hitchins
On why he’s predicting a knockout…
“If I fought the same opponents he [Oscar Duarte] fought, I would have knocked them out, too. I’ve never been knocked out in my entire boxing career. I’ve never touched the canvas ever. He’s not going to be the guy to do that.”
On Oscar Duarte saying he’s a basic fighter..
“As far as Oscar saying I'm a basic fighter, if you look at my resume, every guy that I fought nobody has done to them what I've done to them. This guy has been spoonfed his whole career. When he gets in front of me, I'll show him there’s levels to this and that I'm far from a basic fighter.”
Oscar Duarte
On how he sees this fight ending…
“I’m not only doing this for me. I’m doing this for my team and the people of Mexico.”
On what he has to do to beat Hitchins…
“I’m going to apply pressure and come at him like a train.”
On if he’s being overlooked going into this fight…
“I definitely think they’re underestimating me. I know what I bring to the ring. I know that I'm hungry, and I want that world title…I want that championship. On Saturday, I'm coming not only for [Richardson] Hitchins, but anyone else that they put in front of me.”
On why there’s nothing special about Richardson Hitchins…
“Richardson Hitchins is a basic fighter, but I’m ready. I’ve been training very hard this camp, not only physically, mentally, too. I’m ready for my title.”
Gary Antuanne Russell
On getting this fight…
“I’m ready for it and feeling great. I’ll do what I normally do – show up and show out. Hopefully, the concessions have some popcorn so the fans can enjoy the show.”
On his first title defense against Andy Hiraoka…
“Hopefully, he shows up. I won’t overlook him, but I want to be a true champion, and to do that, you need adversity. I’m prepared.”
On what he thinks the biggest difference was in his last fight against Alberto Puello…
“I took my foot off the gas and felt like I was up on the scorecard, so I changed my approach. I’m more mad at myself than the decision, but I won’t let that happen again.”
On if this fight will go to a decision…
“It depends – I don’t kiss and tell.”
Frank Martin
On how different he feels moving up in weight…
“I feel a lot stronger at 140 pounds…it’s the perfect weight for me. I feel a lot more comfortable.”
On if he believes Nahir Albright will fight or run in the ring…
“We’ll see. He might have to move around a lot. I’m going to beat him. Our styles clash, and it’ll be a good fight.”
Nahir Albright
On how he’s feeling heading into a big fight against Frank Martin…
“I feel great, and I’m excited. So grateful to be here.”
On what kind of fight he’s expecting on Saturday night…
“I’m expecting war and nothing less.”
On what the key is to beating Frank Martin…
“Just being myself and showing the world what I already know.”
Bektemir Melikuziev
On what he wants to show on Saturday night…
“This is a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills. Nothing but respect to my opponent [Sena Agbeko], and I’m looking forward to a great fight."
On hearing Sena Agbeko say he intends to ‘bully the bully…’
“I’m good with that. We’ll see in the ring.”
Sena Agbeko
On how to bully the ‘Bek the Bully…
“We're going to look to deal with everything that he can possibly put forward. The real question is going to be whether he can deal with what I'm going to bring to the table. I guess we'll have to wait until Saturday night to find out.”
On his confidence going into Saturday night…
“I've never shied away from a fight. I'm beating fighters that are very tough competition. I come from a country with a long line of champions: Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey – who Oscar De La Hoya fought. It’s definitely going to be a firefight. He goes by the name, ‘bully.’ My plan for the fight is to ‘bully the bully.’”
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