Two Of Texas's Best Shine in Vegas

Two of the pound-for-pound best fighters Texas has to offer were on the undercard of Canelo vs Munguia at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. " El Azteca" Mario Barrios of San Antonio and Weslaco's "The Heartbreaker" Brandon Figueroa, were successful in defending their interim WBC titles. Barrios dropped and battered Fabian Maidana, the brother of former world champion Marcos Maidana of Argentina. WBC interim welterweight champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios got off to a quick start, and an overhand right in the third sent Maidana tumbling to the canvas. Barrios, trained by Bob Santos, continued to box behind the jab and in complete control throughout the scheduled 12-rounder. It was the Texan that was putting round after round in the bank, but Barrios's right eye was swelling badly from the left hand of Maidana. Barrios had suffered from badly swollen eye issues in the past, and it became a race against time. Could Barrios, who was in complete control, have his badly swollen eye make it to the final bell? Barrios was unphased and continued to pour in right hands and kept Maidana away with his jab as he rolled to a wide unanimous decision by scores of 116-111 X3. El Azteca 29-2 (18), and successfully defended his interim welterweight strap. It is expected that Barrios will be elevated to full champion and will likely fight Eimantas Stanionis next. However, that is not confirmed. 

Also on the card was WBC Interim Featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa. The Heartbreaker is now 27 years old and was able to move his record to 25-1-1 (19) by stopping 32-year-old former world champion Jessie Magdaleno in nine rounds. Late In the ninth round, Figueroa drove  Magdaleno back into the ropes and landed with a thudding left hook to the liver of Magdaleno, sending him to the canvas and unable to continue. It was the 19th KO of The Weslaco native's career. The official time was 2:59 of round nine. The RGV native overcame a sluggish start Figueroa really got cooking in round five and had his man in the ropes and trouble, and Magdaleno was seemingly saved when a borderline punch was ruled low. Figueroa was undeterred and got back to work drove his foe into the ropes into the sixth, and unleashed a combination that had Magdaleno in the world of trouble. Magdeleno was never able to gain the momentum back in his favor, and the relentless style was just too much to overcome as Figeroa did not let off the gas until he finally ended the show in the ninth.

Mario Barrios and Brandon Figueroa added to Canelo Card in May

Cinco de Mayo weekend is long linked with boxing. The weekend has hosted major boxing events for decades. Most recently Mexican legend Canelo Alvarez has headlined the weekend. This year at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo Alvarez will put all four 168-pound world titles on the line against Jaime Munguia in an all-Mexican Showdown. The undercard will feature two former world champions from the Lone Star State. Former 140-pound world champion Mario Barrios, 28-2 (18), will defend his WBC interim welterweight title against Fabian Maidana, 22-2 (16). Barrios last fought in September and beat down former welterweight world champion Yordenis Ugas and took a wide decision in what was the best performance for the San Antonio slugger thus far.

Also on the card is former Super Bantamweight world champion Brandon Figueroa, 24-1-1 (18), who will end a 15-month layoff and battle Jessie Magdaleno. Figueroa has been out of the ring with promotional issues since his highly impressive March 2023 win over Mark Magsayo. The Weslaco native has a big challenge with Magdaleno, who held a super bantamweight world title from 2016-2018. He lost his last fight, a 12-round affair with Raymond Ford, who has since gone on to win a world title. That was in April of 2023 on the undercard of Bam Rodriguez vs Cristian Gonzalez card in San Antonio.

Bozy Ennis says Barrios fight is A Go.

Everyone seems to want a piece of San Antonio-based welterweight and former 140-pound WBA World Champ Mario "El Azteca" Barrios since his upset of former welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas back in September. The 28-year-old San Antonian was long linked to a fight in Saudi Arabia with 140-pound world champion Devin Haney, who had his heart set on moving up to 147. The fight has not materialized, and with Haney having signed to fight Ryan Garcia on April 20th, the other major fight rumor involving the San Antonian may happen. According to Derek "Bozy" Ennis, the father and head trainer of IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis, the fight between his son and Barrios looks like a go. Ennis's name has been in the news lately, after being awarded the IBF welterweight belt, he sued his promoter, "NOW Boxing Promotions." The elder Ennis alleges the promoter is "essentially holding Ennis hostage" and is seeking at least $ 1 million in damages. Enis, who was awarded the IBF welterweight title after it was stripped off of Terence Crawford in late 2023. Crawford won the strap from long-reigning champ Errol Spence of DeSoto in July. That belt could very well find its way back to Texas and around the waist of Barrios, who held the WBA 140-pound world tile from 2019 to 2021 and vacated that belt to move up to 147 pounds. Barrios will look to jin current WBO/IBF Flyweight champ Bam Rodriguez as the only two Alamo City natives to capture titles in multiple weight classes

Mario Barrios in Play for Haney fight in Saudi Arabia

"El Azteca" Mario Barrios of San Antonio has headlined multiple PPV cards, building a reputation as one of boxing's most rugged warriors. The former WBA 140-pound world title holder is now on a shortlist for a mega fight that could potentially be the biggest fight of 2024 and the most profitable. Newly minted 140-pound WBC world champion Devin Haney announced that his next fight would be at 147, and he wanted to fight in Saudi Arabia. When pressed for an answer, Haney's father and representative, Bill Haney, mentioned two names for his next possible opponent. Keith Thurman and Mario Barrios were the candidates, according to the elder Haney. The rumors of a Barrios fight were confirmed by other sources and seems like a makeable and realistic fight for the Spring of 2024. El Azteca last fought in September and handed a career-best performance in outclassing and berating down Cuban former world champion Yordenis Ugas moved his record to 28-2 (18), and became the WBC International welterweight title holder. Haney is fresh off his amazing performance and shut-out UD victory of Regis Prograis last weekend at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, to improve his record to 31-0 (15), and is a strong contender for Fighter of the Year. Current WBC welterweight world titleholder Terence Crawford will likely vacate the title and move up to 154 to rematch Desoto native Errol Spence. That would likely make a Haney-Barrios showdown for the what would be vacant WBC world title. Meaning, that if Barrios won, he would join WBO Flyweight champion Bam Rodriguez as the only San Antonians to ever capture world titles in multiple divisions.

Spence vs Barrios? Would Be Great for Texas According to Trainer

Could an All-Texas shootout be on the horizon for fight fans from the Lone Star State? Former WBA 140-pound world champ, 28-year-old "El Azteca" Mario Barrios of San Antonio, is fresh off the best win of his career, a 12-round beat down of former welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas. Ugas lost his claim to the welterweight championship to Errol Spence of DeSoto in his previous bout, in April 2022. Spence went on to lose three of the four straps at the 147-pound title to Terene Crawfordin July. 33-year-old Errol Spence, 28-1 (22), and El Azteca seem to be heading in different directions, and it could easily be argued that Barrios handled Ugas better than Spence did. Ugas had Spence in serious trouble before, Spence got the stoppage in the 10th round.

A fight between the two would have seemed like one-way traffic just a year ago. However, with Barrios surging under new trainer Bob Santos and Spence having gotten beaten down by Crawford, plus all of the outside-of-the-ring issues seem to be heading in completely opposite directions. The fight now seems like a much more competitive affair. The Alamo City and his trainer are now calling for the all-Texas shootout. A fight that could pack out either AT&T Stadium or the Alamodome.

Barrios's trainer said in an interview with 210Boxing, a San Antonio-based YouTube channel, that he wouldn't mind a fight between Barrios and Spence and that "it would be great for Texas." It certainly would be and would have a chance to set all types of attendance records. However, there are some obstacles that could hold up the fight. Spence has activated his rematch clause to fight undisputed champion Crawford, that fight appears to be in the works for February. There's also the issue of weight. Spence seems set on jumping from 147 to 154 and can no longer make the 147 comfortably. Barrios, who started his career a decade ago as a 122-pounder, is having a resurgence in his career and looks sensational at 147, so it seems like he would be unlikely to move off of the weight class in the foreseeable future.

Barrios Shines in Las Vegas Captures Interim Title. Charlo Comes Up Short in Historic Bid

San Antonio native "El Azteca" Mario Barrios put on a career-best performance in Las Vegas on the undercard of Canelo vs. Jermell Charlo.

Barrios, a former 140-pound world champion, walked into the ring a 3-1 underdog against former welterweight champion and Cuban native Yordenis Ugas. It was the second fight for Barrios with trainer Bob Santos, and it was his second highly-impressive performance.

Barrios showed patience and a more disciplined jab after shaking off a nice body shot Barrios, stayed the course, and that jab scored in the second round and put Ugas down. The 37-year-old Ugas fought back valiantly and scored a right hand that hurt Barrios in the 3rd and landed another big right that affected the Texan. Ugas followed up with a flurry. The fighter seemed even through the midway point. It seemed the fight was up for grabs going into the second half of the fight. El Azteca certainly seized control and dominated the second half of the fight. A right uppercut in the 8th stunned Ugas. Barrios couldn't miss with the right hand as Ugas's eye began swelling. The ringside physician was called in by the referee, who appeared like he wanted to stop the fight, in each of the last three rounds. A fight that likely should have been stopped, by someone continued into the 12th and final round. The Texan scored another knockdown with a picture-perfect left hook in the 12th. Ugas fired back and had some moments with the right hand. However, Barrios continued to get the best of scoring with some right hands of his own. Ugas was deducted a point for spitting his mouthpiece out. Barrios rolled to a wide unanimous points victory by scores of 117-108 and 118-107x2. The Texan, who picks up the WBC Interim title, which will eventually make him the mandatory for the WBC champion, which is currently Jermell Charlo, out-landed the Cuban 193 of 810 to Ugas's 86 of 277. The Alamo City native improved his record to 28-2 (18).

In the main event, Houston native Jermell Charlo came up well short in his bid to become a two-division undisputed champion and dropped a lopsided decision to Canelo Alvarez 118-109X2 and 119-108.

Charlo and Barrios in Action on PPV Card in Las Vegas

Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion Jermell Charlo of Houston and San Antonio native and former WBA junior welterweight champ Mario Barrios will look to make it a Texas two-step in Las Vegas.

Charlo, 35-1-1 (19), captured the fourth belt at 154-pounds in his last outing, back in May 2022. He rallied and stopped Brian Castano in the 10th round of a thrilling rematch. Charlo set the record straight following their 2021 draw. He will now jump up two weight classes and look to become undisputed in his second weight class, a feat accomplished only once in the history of the four-belt era, Terence Crawford accomplished it two months ago by stopping DeSoto, native Errol Spence. He will face Mexican legend and four-division world champion Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez became undisputed in 2021 by stopping Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium, and Callum Smith. He then attempted to move to 175 and lost a one-sided affair to WBA champ Dmitry Bivol. He went back down to 168 and has outpointed GGG and John Ryder.

On the undercard is San Antonio-based fan favorite "El Azteca" Mario Barrios, 27-2 (18), who will battle former welterweight champ Yordenis Ugas of Cuba. Ugas last fought in April of 2022 and was stopped by Spence. Barrios moved up to 147 in 2022 and was outpointed by Keith Thurman, but bounced back nicely, in his first fight with trainer Bob Santos by stopping rugged contender Jovanie Santiago in February. A crossroads fight for each man, a win gets Barrios one giant step closer to being a two-division world champion. There has only been one two-division champ, that called Alamo City home. Bam Rodriguez accomplished the feat in April when he outpointed Cristian Gonzalez.

Barrios to Meet Up with Ugas on Canelo-Charlo Card in Las Vegas

San Antonio's fourth-ever world champion, former WBA 140-Pound title holder Mario "El Azteca" Barrios, will officially meet up with former WBA 147-pound world title holder Yordenis Ugas. The fight will be a part of the Jermell Charlo, Houston, 35-1-1(19) VS Canelo Alvarez 59-2-2 (39) on September 30th at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas.

It's a crossroads fight for each man for the WBC interim title. It's an absolute win for each of the two combatants. Barrios suffered his first two losses consecutively to two future Hall of Famers in 2021 and 2022 to, Tank Davis and then Keith Thurman. Barrios bounced backed earlier this year with an eight-round demolition of Jovanie Santiago at the Alamodome. Barrios will look to pull the Texas two-step on Ugas, who lost his WBA world title to Errol Spence of DeSoto, Texas, at AT&T Stadium in April of 2022 via 10th-round TKO.

Ugas rejuvenated his career at 147 after suffering consecutive losses in 2014 at 140 pounds. Ugas went on a tear that started in 2016 and culminated with a world title-winning performance with a win over Abel Ramos in 2020 and then beating the legendary Manny Pacquiao into retirement in 2021. At 37 years old and coming off a 16-month layoff from the brutal loss to Spence, Ugas needs a win over a young warrior like Barrios to show he still belongs in the world title picture. "El Azteca" is 1-1 (1) as a welterweight and needs a win over an elite world-class fighter like Ugas, which will propel him into a world title fight with Terence Crawford.

In April, Bam Rodriguez became the first ever Alamo City native to become a two-division world champion when he outclassed Christian Gonzalez to capture the WBO Flyweight title. Barrios will put himself in a position to challenge for the WBC welterweight title and join his friend Bam as San Antonio's only two-division world champions.

Barrios Likely To Face Ugas This Summer

"El Azteca" Mario Barrios, of San Antonio, will likely be back in the ring this summer. July is being targeted for a showdown with former WBA champ Yordenis Ugas of Cuba. Ugas is coming off a 10th-round stoppage loss to Errol Spence of DeSoto last April at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Ugas-Barrios bout will be for the WBC interim title, meaning the winner would likely be slated to fight the WBC World Champion. That champion at the moment is Errol Spence of DeSoto.

Ugas is currently ranked number two by the WBC, while Barrios is ranked fifth by the same organization. Typically the bout would be between the two top-ranked fighters in the weight class. However, Keith Thurman is currently ranked one by the WBC and is still expected to fight Spence in a non-title fight at 154 pounds. However, nothing on that fight has been made official, and Spence is still negotiating with WBO champ Terence Crawford.

Alternatively, the winner of the Ugas-Barrios interim title bout could also be ordered to fight the winner of the other WBC eliminator between Cody Crowley and Abel Ramos. That bout is scheduled for next week on the Plant-Benavidez card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Barrios sports a record of 27-2 (18), and bounced back off of his two consecutive losses last month in very impressive fashion. He stopped Jovanie Santiago in the eighth round of a one-sided bout. It was his first camp with trainer Bob Santos. Barrios previously held a 140-pound title from 2019 to 2021.

A New Champ a Former Champ and A future Champ Shine in the Alamodome

"Ice Water" O'Shaquie Foster has a backstory that reads like a Hollywood script. From touted blue-chip prospect to two ShoBox losses in eight months to splitting with his promoter to a prison sentence. To resurgence and then, ultimate redemption and winning a world title against Rey Vargas, a former two-division world champ, in his home state. Foster may be the best 130-pounder in the world, and he most likely is. Those skills, reflexes, and ring IQ were on full display in Alamo City. As the 29-year-old, Orange native dominated from start to finish. Foster boxed brilliantly throughout the 12-round affair. Dominating the opening with just a jab. Dictating the pace, and getting in position to land while avoiding Vargas's heavy artillery. The opening few rounds were the same story Foster, the quicker sharper fighter would land in short combinations and Vargas would swing at air. Controlling the action early, the Texan began getting a bit more aggressive and started firing with right hands that started landing with laser-like precision, one in particular, staggered the former world champ at the end of the second round. Hitting and not getting hit, Foster remained in control throughout most of the middle rounds. However, Vargas began battling back and had his best moment in the ninth with a straight right that landed about midway through the round. The moment was short-lived as Ice Water seized control of the fight again scoring with left hooks in the final minute of the 10th that completely halted the temporary momentum put together by Vargas. Foster remained in control and the Hollywood script was completed. Foster Captured the vacant WBC title and responded by saying, “Man, it feels great. Man, this journey been crazy.” The final tallies were 119-109,117-111, and 116-112, all for the East Texan.

In the co-main event was the comeback of one of San Antonio's favorite sons, "El Azteca" Mario Barrios. Barrios became the first of the current crop of Alamo Citr fighters to capture a world title which he did back in 2019 when he outpointed Batyr Akhmedov. Barrios bounced back nicely off of his two-fight losing streak and secured his first win since Halloween 2021 when he stopped Milan, Texas native Ryan Karl, also in the Alamodome.

A new look Barrios sported a Misfits tattoo and a new trainer in Bob Santos, and the new, more offensive and aggressive Barrios was on display immediately against Jovanie Santiago. As Barrios was applying pressure, jabbing, and firing off right hands backing his opponent up. He would then fire off a barrage of body shots that began taking its toll. By the sixth round, it became abundantly clear that Santiago was a sitting duck and not going to get through the 10-round affair. The beatdown continued into the seventh as Santiago was showing effects from the culmination of power shots and began backing down. Barrios jumped on his wounded opponent like a dog on fear. Santiago finally went down a minute into the eighth after getting hit by a left hook to the body. Santiago, tough as nails, was able to get up and continue. However, El Azteca slammed on the gas and unleashed another flurry of shots as the referee waved off the bout giving Barrios his first win in over two years and putting him back on track to regaining a world title and becoming a two-division world champion. Barrios moved to 6-0 (5) in his home city and 10-0 overall in the Lone Star State.

In a preliminary bout, our number one prospect to watch in 2023 kicked the new year off in spectacular fashion! "The Unkown Warrior" Fabian Diaz of Edinburg scored his second consecutive first-round KO moving his record to 4-0 (2). Diaz spent the opening moments of the fight working behind a snappy jab and looking to set up his power shots, the right hand in particular. Just past the one-minute mark, Diaz landed a right uppercut that staggered his opponent Eleazar Mendietta. Diaz then scored with a right hand to the body that hurt his opponent. The instructions flew in from the Rio Grande Valley native's corner that, "He's done!... Knock him out." The Unknown warrior obliged and scored with a barrage of power shots. Scoring with one overhand right after another and putting in a left hook here and there just for good measure. With just under a minute to go in the opening round Diaz wound up on a right hand that sent Mendietta reeling across the ring. The Unkown Warrior kept on the gas and kept on firing until the referee came in and called a halt to the bout after a perfectly placed uppercut from the RGV native about took his head off.

Barrios Returns Home! Will Fight at Alamodome on Feb. 11th

The recent surge of San Antonio boxers that have captured world titles is staggering. The first of this current crop of great San Antonio fighters to capture a world title, "El Azteca" Mario Barrios, is coming home! Barrios returns to the ring on February 11th in the Alamodome. He will fight in the Co-main event of the Rey Vargas vs O'shaquie Foster WBC Super Featherweight world title fight.

El Azteca is currently 26-2 (17) and held the WBA 140-pound world title from 2019-2021. He is however coming off a two-fight losing streak. These are the only two losses of his impressive career after starting his career with 26 consecutive wins. Barrios will look to bounce back against Jovanie Santiago, who is best known for being robbed blind in a fight with Adrien Broner back in February 2021. Three months later, Santiago fought Gary Antuanne Russell and was stopped over six one-sided rounds.

It will be the first time the San Antonian has fought in his hometown since October of 2020 when he stopped Ryan Karl of Milano, Texas in the sixth round. That was Barrios's first title defense of his WBA strap and was the co-main event of Davis-Santa Cruz. The Alamo City native is excited to be back home, saying “I’m even more motivated knowing that I get to fight back at home in San Antonio and give my people a great fight. Everyone is going to see pure boxing entertainment as I’ll be putting my skills on display with bad intentions. I’ve proven that I’m a warrior every time I get into the ring and I’m bringing that same energy for Santiago.”

World Championship Boxing Returns to Alamo city

Big-time boxing returns to Alamo City! After the massive audience that packed the Alamodome back on April 9th. PBC will try their hand at the Alamodome without a San Antonian in the headline. San Antonio, is quickly becoming boxing's next great hotbed and has routinely produced packed houses. Including the roughly 15,000 that attended Garcia-Tagoe earlier this month. The July 7th PBC card at the Alamodome will feature WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo against former WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas.

Magsayo won the belt from long-reigning champ Gary Russell Jr back in January, and this marks his inaugural defense. Vargas held the WBC strap in the division below from 2017 till 2019. He won the belt via majority decision while traveling to the UK to fight Gavin McDonnell, in McDonnell's backyard. He defended the belt successfully five times before vacating it. He was out of the ring for nearly two and a half years, and returned in the fourth quarter of 2021, when he outclassed Leonardo Baez on the Canelo-Caleb Plant undercard.

So far no undercard has been confirmed. However, the many Texas-based PBC stars may potentially be included on the card. Omar Juarez hails from Brownsville and trains in the Alamo city, has been rumored to potentially appear on the July, 7th card. Juarez last fought in a thrilling fight with fellow Texan Ryan Karl on the undercard of Thurman-Barrios back in February and scored a decision victory and picked up the WBC international welterweight title. Barrios, a San Antonio icon and former world champion, has also been rumored to potentially make his return appearance on the card, possibly in the co-main. As has former world champ and Rio Grande Valley Brandon Figueroa has not been in the ring since his highly controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. The timing would make sense for each of these world-class fighters to be featured on the card.

World Championship Boxing Returns to Alamo city

Big-time boxing returns to Alamo City! After the massive audience that packed the Alamodome back on April 9th. PBC will try their hand at the Alamodome without a San Antonian in the headline. San Antonio, is quickly becoming boxing's next great hotbed and has routinely produced packed houses. Including the roughly 15,000 that attended Garcia-Tagoe earlier this month. The July 7th PBC card at the Alamodome will feature WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo against former WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas.

Magsayo won the belt from long-reigning champ Gary Russell Jr back in January, and this marks his inaugural defense. Vargas held the WBC strap in the division below from 2017 till 2019. He won the belt via majority decision while traveling to the UK to fight Gavin McDonnell, in McDonnell's backyard. He defended the belt successfully five times before vacating it. He was out of the ring for nearly two and a half years, and returned in the fourth quarter of 2021, when he outclassed Leonardo Baez on the Canelo-Caleb Plant undercard.

So far no undercard has been confirmed. However, the many Texas-based PBC stars may potentially be included on the card. Omar Juarez hails from Brownsville and trains in the Alamo city, has been rumored to potentially appear on the July, 7th card. Juarez last fought in a thrilling fight with fellow Texan Ryan Karl on the undercard of Thurman-Barrios back in February and scored a decision victory and picked up the WBC international welterweight title. Barrios, a San Antonio icon and former world champion, has also been rumored to potentially make his return appearance on the card, possibly in the co-main. As has former world champ and Rio Grande Valley Brandon Figueroa has not been in the ring since his highly controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. The timing would make sense for each of these world-class fighters to be featured on the card.

Bam Rodriguez Becomes Boxing's Youngest World Champ

Seven days ago Bam Rodriguez was supposed to take what amounted to a stay busy fight against Fernando Diaz.  A kind of a welcome to the Matchroom family fight. Instead, he jumped up two weight classes and took on a legend of the ring and future Hall of Famer in Carlos Cuadras on less than one week's notice for the WBC Super Flyweight title. Rodriguez did the unthinkable and dominated the former champ, dropped him in round number three, controlled the rest of the fight, rolled to the unanimous decision victory, and captured the Super Flyweight title.  He became boxing's youngest world champion at just 22-years-old. He also joins older brother Joshua Franco as a world champion.

At the prefight presser Rodriguez said  “When I got the call, I had no hesitation,”. He added “This is my moment. San Antonio will have a new champion and a star will be born” High expectations, but Bam certainly did not disappoint. Landing on 258 of 688 total punches (38%). After a fairly close first-round Bam seized control of the fight in the second and dropped the former champion in the third round. He remained in control of the fight from that point on. Using his incredible angles and combination punching he was clearly wearing Cuardas down. Rodriguez pumped his fist several times while working to his corner, knowing his lifelong dream of being a world champion was becoming a reality. He hurt Cuadras with a body shot in the fourth. He staggered his man in the fifth with an uppercut followed by a left hand.  The San Antonian remained in control the remainder of the bout. Cuadras did put some good moments together and Rodriguez said "I am sore" and his face showed some swelling from the non-stop work from a rugged former champ, but his moments were far too few and short-lived. The 22-year-old San Antonian closed the show like a veteran. Firing off a four-punch combination that again Rocked Cuadras and after the two traded heavy artillery Rodriguez finished the final round with two-picture perfect land hands. The scorecards were academic as all three judges scored for Rodriguez, by scores of 117-110x2 and a much too close 115-112.

The undercard featured Edward Vazquez of Fort Worth, Texas, who was absolutely robbed out of a win. Vazquez out-landed and outworked fellow unbeaten featherweight Raymond Ford, over 10 competitive but mostly one-sided rounds. After the scorecards were read off 96-94 for Vazquez and 98-92 and 97-93 in favor of Ford, the crowd erupted in boo's and DAZN commentator responded to the decision by saying "Embarrassing" no other words were needed. Ford's promoter Eddie Hearn also acknowledged that Vazquez was impressive and deserved the decsion. 

Four additional Texans took the ring just a few hours away in Las Vegas, Nevada. Brownsville native Omar Juarez scored a split decision victory over Milano native "Cowboy" Ryan Karl in a highly entertaining, fan-friendly brawl. Juarez moved his record to 13-1 (5) putting most of the early rounds in the bank using his speed and precise counter-punching to build up a lead on the scorecards. Karl battled back in the second half of the fight and appeared to slow and a cut above Karl's eye caused him to fight with a sense of urgency and he was able to draw the prospect from Brownsville into a slugfest. The 10th and final round was an all-time keeper. The round started with Juarez landing back-to-back right hands that Karl took and answered back with a thudding three-piece combination. The fast-paced round ended with the two warriors exchanging toe to toe for the final 15 seconds.

The card also featured Corpus Christ native John Rincon coming back from a nearly two-year layoff. He scored an impressive unanimous decision victory over  Ramon Duarte Marquez in a four-round affair. Rincon moves to 6-0 (2) in his promising young career.

The main event didn't go so well for The Lone Star State as former 140-pound world titleholder Mario Barrios of San Antonio, lost a spirited battle to former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman. Barrios fell behind on the cards early but rallied a little bit in the second half of the fight, but it was too little too late as he dropped the decision unanimously to Thurman by scores of 118-110x2 and 117-111.

Two San Antonionians Headline; Six Texans in Action

The first major weekend of boxing of the new year is absolutely loaded and stacked with fighters from the Lone Star State. The two major cards this weekend are headed up by two fighters from San Antonio. Former WBA 140-Pound World champ, Mario Barrios, returns to the ring for the first time since his fight of the year type fight with Tank Davis in June of last year. Barrios suffered his first career loss to Davis, a three-division world champion, via 11th round TKO. Barrios moves up to welterweight for the first time and instead of fighting a soft touch, he opted for the biggest challenge of his professional career. He battles former unified welterweight champ, Keith Thurman in the main event of a card at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. About 300 miles away at the Footprint center in Phoenix, Arizona. Barrios's long-time friend and fellow Alamo City native Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez literally and figuratively take the biggest fight of his career. The 22-year-old phenom jumps up not one, but two weight classes to battle future hall of famer Carlos Cuadras for the WBC Super Flyweight strap and looks to capture the first world title of his promising career. A career that is expected to produce multiple world titles in multiple weight classes.

While Barrios and Bam headline the cards, the undercards are stacked with Texans. On the undercard of Thurman-Barrios, Brownsville native and highly touted jr welterweight prospect "El Relampago" Omar Juarez will battle long time contender "Cowboy" Ryan Karl, who hails from a town called Milano, a small town about 60-70 miles northeast of Austin, in an all Texas throwdown. Karl, 19-3 (12)  had previously fought for a world title when he lost to Barrios in San Antonio on the undercard of Davis-Santa Cruz. Juarez, the blue-chip prospect, is on the fast track to fighting for a world title at 140 pounds and sports a 12-1 (5) record, he suffered his first career defeat back in June when he dropped a split decision to All Rivera in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He bounced back nicely and scored a dominant one-sided decision over 40-fight veteran Jairo Lopez. The fight will air on Fox in the build-up to the Thurman-Barrios PPV. Also on the card is Corpus Christi native John Rincon. He puts his 5-0 (2) record on the line against 4-0 (4) Ramon Duarte Marquez in a battle of unbeaten prospects. After a quick start to his career that saw Rincon fight on several major cards, he has been out of the ring for nearly two years for a litany of reasons.

On the Arizona card headlined by Cuadras and Bam Rodriguez, Fort Worth native, undefeated Edward "Kid" Vazquez will battle highly touted and undefeated New Jersey-based prospect Raymond "Savage" Ford in what promises to be a TV-friendly fight between two unbeaten featherweight prospects. Vazquez has delivered action-packed fights in the past when he got up off the canvas to dominate Adan Ochoa in a bout that was televised on ESPN and then he delivered a non-stop fight of the year type slugfest and outlasted Irvin Gonzalez on the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr PPV in November of 2020. Vazquez sports a perfect 12-0 (3) record and could be looking at a world title fight by the end of the calendar year should he beat Ford Saturday night at the Footprint Center

San Antonio's Favorite Son Set To Return At New Weight

San Antonio loves a champion and when "El Azteca" Mario Barrios rallied to score a 12th round knockdown of Batyr Akhmedov to capture the WBA Jr Welterweight crown, becoming San Antonio's first world boxing champion in a quarter-century.  He was treated to a hero's welcome. He was honored by Southwest High school where he graduated from. He was also honored by the cities other champions the San Antonio Spurs. He made the first defense of his belt back in his hometown and got a massive applaud when he stopped fellow Texan Ryan Karl in October of last year. When he came up short for the first time in his career against Tank Davis in what was a fight of the year type brawl, Barrios was again treated as a hero when he returned home. San Antonio has continued to celebrate and support El Azteca and he is set to embark on the biggest fight of his career. He will step in with former unified welterweight kingpin, Keith "One Time" Thurman. Thurman held welterweight world titles from 2014-2019 and was working on putting together a hall of fame resume when he suffered his first career loss. A split decision loss to the legendary Manny Pacquiao in July of 2019. Thurman has been inactive since. 

That will change, and Thurman will end the 30-month hiatus on January 29th when stepping back in the ring with El Azteca.  Thurman has long been linked to a fight with another Texan, Errol Spence Jr, for many years. That fight never came to fruition and Thurman will try and mess with another Texan in Barrios in a fight that will likely lead to the winners getting that Spence fight later in 2022.  It's a big test and challenge for the highly inactive Thurman, it's no tune-up fighting a former world champion, showing that he wants to get right back into the mix and challenge for a world title this year. For the San Antonian, it's a huge test, Thurman marks the best fighter Barrios has ever been in with, and it's a monumental step up as well as an incredible display of courage and confidence to step into the ring with an all-time great 147-pounder like Thurman. Barrios clearly wants to become a two-division world champ and now has a clear path to doing so by 2022.