Mario Barrios was once a featherweight and then a 130 lbs contender, only to move up two weight classes and become a world champion at the 140 lbs division. Barrios would face two of the sports' biggest stars Gervonta Davis, and Keith Thurman. Though unsuccessful in obtaining the victory, Barrios did become a credible opponent at both 140 and 147 lbs, as well as was in front of millions of new fans.
Now Barrios, who recently returned to stop Jovannie Santiago in a welterweight division fight is taking aim at the new era of great fighters in the division, and his new coach, Bob Santos welcomes any-and-all challenges.
The glowing praise of Barrios is continued by Bob Santos, who has worked with Mario Barrios for most of his career, in different capacities, but now has taken over the duty of full-time trainer as well. The overall sentiment is that Santos firmly believes that Barrios will become a two-division world champion, as Santos believes it is a matter of when, not if Barrios wins a world title at welterweight.
“I fully expect him to win a world title at 147 pounds,” Santos proclaimed to 210Boxing TV. “Mario Barrios is a tremendously talented fighter.”
Barrios, originally from San Antonio, Texas, has been a road warrior, spending much of his career in the San Francisco Bay Area working with Ruben Guerrero, before changing camps and winning a world title with Virgil Hunter and famed cut man Don Ames. After losing to Keith Thurman, Barrios said it was time for a change as he uprooted his camp to Las Vegas, Nevada, and decided to work with Bob Santos, many media outlets trainer of the year in 2022. So far the duo is 1-0, with 1 knockout, and the team looks to become a legitimate threat to the rest of the division by the end of 2023.
“He’s one of the biggest punchers in boxing, he’s an incredible fighter. I think he put himself in a great opportunity to fight for a world championship or one of the big names,” said Santos. I think he’s starting to find himself. Mario showed that he’s at that elite level and he deserves another opportunity.”
