Mario Barrios came to WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ defense for his selection of Lamont Roach for his next fight on December 14th. Barrios says Tank (30-0, 28 KOs) has “proved” himself enough during his 11-year career to “call the shots” to fight anyone he wants, just like Canelo Alvarez is doing now.
The two-division world champion Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs), who has knocked out in the 11th round by Tank Davis three years ago on June 26th, 2021, feels that the super featherweight Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs) isn’t a “Bad fight”, and it’s a “really entertaining fight.”
Barrios is a PBC fighter, just like Tank Davis, so it’s unclear if he’s being a team player with his favorable comments about his mismatch against Roach. Like Tank, Barrios has been well-maneuvered by his management, being steered into two-division world titles without beating anyone of note during his 11-year pro career.
Barrios was elevated to WBC welterweight champion recently outside of the ring by the World Boxing Council. In other words, Barrios is what fans call an ‘email champion.’ He won his WBC interim 147-lb title against Yordenis Ugas on September 30, 2023.
That was after Ugas had been softened up by Errol Spence, losing to him by a tenth-round knockout on April 16th, 2022, in a grueling fight that involved the Cuban fighter sustaining a lot of punishment.
Barrios will be defending his WBC welterweight title against #8 Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs) on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul on November 15th at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Ramos has a 1-2 record in his last three fights. This is an example of Barrios being well-managed by his management. Why is Barrios facing a fighter with that kind of a record for a title defense of his WBC welterweight belt?
“I know Tank goes, ‘F*** boxing fans,’” said Mario Barrios to the media about Gervonta Davis’ mindset toward the backlash he’s getting from people over him choosing super featherweight Lamont Roach to defend his WBA lightweight title on December 14th in Houston.
What Barrios isn’t saying is that by Tank continually taking easier fights against opposition that fans don’t want to see, he’s stunting his popularity and not making the kind of money he could be getting if he fought better competition. Being protected results in a fighter never attaining true superstar status. Hence, Tank is only well-known among hardcore boxing fans and not a household name in the U.S.
“Everyone is always so opinionated. Boxing fans are so hard to please. It doesn’t matter who you fight,” said Barrios, who is making an easy defense of his WBC 147-lb belt against Abel Ramos, a fighter who has lost two out of his last three fights.”
Barrios has been maneuvered the same way that Tank has, so it’s understandable why he wouldn’t want to criticize him for taking on soft opposition. Mario’s last fight was against little-known Fabio Maidana, the brother of former world champion Marcos Maidana, but who had never beaten anyone to gain attention.
Why is Barrios fighting someone like that? It’s pretty obvious why. The same reason Barrios is defending against Ramos, a fighter with a 1-2 record in his last three fights. If Barrios were matched against quality fighters like Jaron Ennis and Brian Norman Jr, he wouldn’t be a world champion.
“All that matters is Tank is doing his thing. He’s proved more than enough. It’s kind of getting to that stage like Canelo. He can call whatever shots he wants. He can move in whatever direction he wants to move in. I don’t think that’s a bad fight,” Barrios said about Tank choosing Roach from the 130-lb division. “It’s a really entertaining fight.”
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