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Ryan Garcia is looking to do what Manny Pacquiao couldn't — dethrone Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title. Garcia recorded himself signing a contract to face Barrios and posted it on his Instagram page on Wednesday night. The controversial star said the bout would take place Feb. 21. 

"I'm going to be fighting for the real WBC championship belt against Mario Barrios," Garcia said. "February 21, get ready 'cause I'm coming."

Neither Barrios nor Premier Boxing Champions has confirmed whether they have agreed to the fight.

News broke this past month that negotiations were ongoing between Garcia's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, and Barrios's handler, PBC, to match the pair in the first quarter of 2026, likely in the main event of a joint DAZN and Amazon Prime Video pay-per-view event.

Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) was knocked down by Rolando "Rolly" Romeo early in his WBA "regular" welterweight title challenge in May. Garcia went on to lose a listless 12-round unanimous decision against Romero in a major upset. The defeat scuttled plans for a Devin Haney rematch.

It was revealed after the fight that Garcia injured his hand in training camp before the contest, but refused to withdraw. Garcia underwent hand surgery for the injury in late May.

Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) was fortunate to escape with a majority decision draw against the legendary Pacquiao in July. Most observers felt Pacquiao had done enough to be crowned the oldest welterweight champion in history, but he was ultimately denied the verdict on the scorecards. Prior to that, Barrios drew with Abel Ramos on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard.