Here’s how Barrios can use some surprise with Garcia.
Not many give Barrios a chance against Garcia.
Wrong answer.
Surely that will only set him down to the ground at the moment in his final training. The pair fight next week on February 21st in a huge fight where Garcia is expected to win.
Garcia does appear to have trained somewhat well but he also appears to be a bit heavy as well for the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. A little more than usual.
He looks to be training for power punching from the different build up videos and training programs so far. That sounds exciting for boxing fans who want to see knockouts.
But that isn’t always Garcia’s game, that style of fighting. He can punch but his speed is usually his main asset.
If he leaves the weight cut until very late on fight week that might be a disadvantage for him as well.
What’s more, he’s been fined ahead of the fight for failing to get his 14 day weigh-in check done on time recently. That is something that has gone a little under the radar and suggests that he isn’t exactly on weight for the bout just yet.
If that is the case, and Barrios has trained very well, don’t throw off Barrios’ chances completely in this fight.
He’s a very live dog in the fight as is Garcia and Barrios can try to use some of this underdog mentality as a surprise to his advantage in the fight.
Here’s some surprise strategies on fight night Barrios can also use:
- Start aggressively with high-volume inside pressure to disrupt Garcia’s early knockout rhythm.
- Target the body relentlessly from round 1 to sap Garcia’s trademark speed and power.
- Switch to southpaw stance mid-fight to confuse Garcia’s timing on the left hook.
- Use feints and level changes to draw out Garcia’s big swings and counter with sharp uppercuts.
- Fight in bursts of 30-second flurries followed by quick clinches to frustrate Garcia’s rhythm.
- Apply constant forward pressure while slipping to the outside, forcing Garcia to backpedal.
- Throw unexpected lead right hands over the top to exploit Garcia’s low guard when retreating.
- Mix in low-volume, high-accuracy counters instead of his usual volume to bait Garcia into overcommitting.
- Go for a surprise early body shot knockdown to shake Garcia’s confidence quickly.
- Maintain a high guard and shell up selectively to lure Garcia forward into traps.
There is some Latin heritage involved in this fight as well.
Expect Barrios to go all out for Mexico and more when he gets in there with Ryan Garcia next week.
