Tim Bradley Urges Mario Barrios To Retire After Garcia Loss

Tim Bradley has publicly urged Mario Barrios to retire following his defeat to Ryan Garcia, shifting the immediate conversation from a title change to the former champion’s future.

Barrios was dropped in the opening seconds of his bout with Garcia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and went on to lose a 12-round decision, surrendering his WBC welterweight title. It was the 30-year-old ‘El Azteca’ Barrios’ third straight fight without a win, following back-to-back draws against Manny Pacquiao and Abel Ramos.

Bradley, a Hall of Fame former two-division champion, did not soften his reaction.

“You already know I’m here to talk about this damn Ryan Garcia [vs] Mario Barrios fight,” Bradley said on his YouTube channel. “Mario Barrios made Ryan Garcia look like he was Manny Pacquiao or Bruce Lee… What the hell was that, Mario? Come on, man.”

He continued: “This is a horrible performance by Mario Barrios, man. You need to hang them up, bro. Yeah, you need to go my dude for real.”

Retirement calls from fans are common after a high-profile loss. Public pressure from a former champion carries a different tone. Bradley competed at welterweight himself and remains an active voice in the sport through his media work. His comments immediately reframed the aftermath of Saturday’s fight around whether Barrios should continue.

Barrios had made two defenses of the WBC title after winning it, retaining the belt through draws against Pacquiao and Ramos before losing to Garcia. Those results allowed him to keep the championship, but they did little to quiet questions about his standing in the division. The decisive nature of the Garcia loss intensified that scrutiny.

Barrios has not publicly responded to Bradley’s remarks and has not indicated his next move.

For now, the result stands, and so does the debate.