Ryan Garcia aims to capture the WBC welterweight title against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas on Saturday, potentially setting up a lucrative showdown with Conor Benn.

The 27-year-old challenger is bidding to become a fully-fledged world champion for the first time in his turbulent career.

Victory at the T-Mobile Arena would likely clear the path for a high-profile bout against “The Destroyer”, who is currently waiting in the wings.

Stuttering champions collide

“King Ryan” enters the ring looking to rebuild his reputation following a chaotic period both inside and outside the ropes.

His aspirations have previously been derailed by inconsistency, including a points defeat to Rolly Romero and a victory over Devin Haney that was overturned due to a failed drug test.

However, the defending champion is also arriving in Nevada without recent winning momentum.

Barrios has not tasted victory since May 2024, having recorded back-to-back draws in his subsequent outings.

The Texan titleholder struggled to overcome Abel Ramos last November and was held to a stalemate by a 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao the previous summer.

Start time and how to watch

The action takes place on Saturday, 21 February at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

For UK viewers, the main card is scheduled to begin at 01:00 GMT on Sunday morning.

Ring walks for the main event are expected at approximately 04:00 GMT.

The event will be broadcast exclusively on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

UK fans can purchase the event for £24.99, while the price is set at $64.99 for viewers in the United States.

Undercard details

Three other title fights feature on a stacked bill in Sin City.

• Mario Barrios (c) vs Ryan Garcia – WBC welterweight title
• Richardson Hitchins (c) vs Oscar Duarte – IBF super-lightweight title
• Gary Antuanne Russell (c) vs Andy Hiraoka – WBA super-lightweight title
• Frank Martin vs Nahir Albright – Super-lightweight
• Bektemir Melikuziev vs Sena Agbeko – Super-middleweight

Promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted there are “no guarantees” Anthony Joshua will ever fight again following the tragic car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two close friends.

Hearn calls for patience after trauma

While the Matchroom Boxing chief expects the heavyweight star to eventually return, he insists the priority remains the fighter’s recovery.

The former two-time world champion was injured in a collision on 29 December which resulted in the deaths of Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.

Hearn emphasised that the Watford-born boxer must be allowed indefinite time to process the traumatic event before making any professional decisions.

“I don’t think there is any guarantees he fights again, but at the same time I expect him to because it is something that he loves,” Hearn told First Round TV.

Hearn believes the sport could eventually offer a path forward for the grieving athlete.

“It is something he can carry those guys with him through as well and it is something he wants to do.”

Physical toll worse than feared

Beyond the emotional impact, the physical injuries sustained by the Olympic gold medallist appear more significant than initially publicised.

Joshua had recently stopped Jake Paul in Miami, a victory that was supposed to pave the way for a 2026 super-fight.

“From a boxing sense, physically it wasn’t easy what he went through either. People probably don’t realise the extent of that,” Hearn revealed.

Although the British superstar has been present in the gym, he is not yet medically cleared for combat training.

“He has been training, but he is not ready yet and won’t be for a while to return to boxing training.”

Fury showdown plans shelved

The accident has completely derailed the boxing calendar, with a planned March bout now cancelled.

Consequently, the long-awaited undisputed clash with Tyson Fury is now in serious jeopardy.

“Obviously, that is not happening now and I don’t know if it will ever happen right now,” Hearn added regarding the Fury fight.

The promoter indicated that the next month will be crucial as Joshua attempts to “turn the dial up” on his rehabilitation.

Steve Tandy’s side are now preparing to face France in Cardiff on Sunday.

They carry the heavy burden of a 12-match losing streak in the tournament.

The national team has also suffered 22 defeats in their last 24 internationals since the 2023 World Cup.

A discipline disaster

The visitors capitulated at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, yielding seven tries in a chaotic defensive display.

Ill-discipline plagued the Welsh ranks throughout the afternoon.

They conceded 16 penalties and saw four players sent to the sin-bin during the rout.

Captain Dewi Lake stated after the final whistle that the squad had let the nation down.

Winger Josh Adams appeared visibly distraught and was close to tears on the pitch.

When pressed on the nature of the loss, Sherratt offered no excuses.

“No, it wasn’t [acceptable],” he said.

“It doesn’t sting anyone more than the players and staff, it’s so disappointing.”

“With the big picture, we want to make the nation proud of the Welsh rugby team.”

“There wasn’t a lack of effort, but at the top end of sport, you need more than effort.”

Honest conversations

Sherratt insisted that the subsequent analysis on Tuesday was conducted with transparency rather than brutality.

“The review was honest,” the assistant coach explained.

“It wasn’t brutal, but it was honest. We had two days afterwards, which helped, because sometimes it is a bit of a grieving process.”

“By the time we came back in on Tuesday, there had been a lot of conversations and the players understand as well.”

He emphasised that the responsibility was shared collectively.

“It’s not about the coaches standing at the front telling the players where it went wrong,” he added.

“It’s pretty joined up, we’ve got senior players who were hurting as much as anyone.”

Training ground disconnect

The coaching staff acknowledged a worrying failure to translate training ground preparation into match-day execution.

“We felt we’d worked hard for two weeks, but with every sport, it’s about producing what you’ve done in practice on the day and we weren’t able to do that,” Sherratt admitted.

“Regardless of the scoreboard that was the most disappointing thing.”

“We didn’t feel like we replicated what we’d done in training.”

Despite the wretched run of results, the management team intends to maintain their strategic direction.

“It’s a balance, it’s like with any job,” Sherratt said.

“If you start changing course every two or three weeks, you lose confidence in what you’re trying to do also.”

He pointed to fleeting moments of quality against Argentina and New Zealand as evidence of potential progress.

“We’re not stubborn, so we will look at what’s the best chance for the team to get a result at the weekend,” he concluded.

“But you can’t be scrapping your plans each week as well.”

Tyson Fury will face Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 11 April, marking his return to the ring after plans for an Old Trafford homecoming were scuppered.

The Gypsy King is aiming to rebuild his career following consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.

Hopes of a fairytale return at Manchester United’s home ground were dashed due to a fixture clash.

The Premier League giants are scheduled to face Leeds United on the same date, rendering the Theatre of Dreams unavailable.

With Tottenham Hotspur travelling to Sunderland that weekend, the north London venue became available to host the heavyweight contest.

A difficult test against ‘The Lion’

Standing in Fury’s way is Arslanbek Makhmudov, a giant Russian heavyweight currently based in Canada.

The 36-year-old boasts a formidable record of 21 wins from 23 fights, with 19 victories coming by way of knockout.

However, the puncher has shown vulnerability recently, having been stopped in defeats by Guido Vianello and Agit Kabayel.

Despite recent setbacks, Makhmudov remains confident of upsetting the odds.

I am thrilled about the opportunity. I’m coming to deliver a war. Tyson Fury has been a big champion. I will be more ready than ever to leave with a massive W.

Arslanbek Makhmudov

Netflix debut and future ambitions

This bout marks the former two-time world champion’s first fight to be broadcast on Netflix.

It follows the filming of the second season of his reality series, At Home with the Furies, which is set for release this spring.

Fury has outlined an ambitious plan to fight three times this year as he looks to re-establish himself as a major force in the division.

“Well it’s official im back doing what i [love] to do,” Fury stated on social media.

“I’ve brought the biggest network along with me… this is going to be astronomical.”

The road to Anthony Joshua

The April contest is viewed as a warm-up for a potential blockbuster clash with Anthony Joshua later in the year.

However, uncertainty surrounds Joshua’s timeline following a tragic car accident in Nigeria involving his team.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that the Watford fighter will not be rushed back into the ring.

Should the Joshua fight be delayed, WBO champion Fabio Wardley has emerged as another potential opponent for a summer showdown.

Wardley must first navigate a defence against Daniel Dubois in May.

The Scotland centre admits he was left “angry and frustrated” following the 18-15 loss in Rome.

Jones struggled to impact the game amidst torrential rain at the Stadio Olimpico.

Gregor Townsend’s side failed to register a single line break against the Azzurri.

It marked a stark contrast to previous attacking fluency, with the Scots looking uncharacteristically blunt.

A shot at immediate redemption

Jones insists the arrival of the Auld Enemy at Murrayfield offers the ideal platform to respond.

The midfielder has an impressive record in this fixture, having scored six tries in seven appearances.

However, the disappointment of the performance in Italy remains a driving force.

“After a loss when everyone’s hurting and when we didn’t really get to play, we all have that pent-up frustration and energy.”

Jones said

“Even if we’d won I would have come away knowing I didn’t get to do anything. I’m really angry about that and this week adds to the fuel of just wanting to go out and show what we can do.”

“It’s the perfect one for us to come back to.”

Facing a resurgent rival

Despite his personal success in the fixture, Jones is wary of the threat posed by the visitors.

He concedes this iteration of the England squad is potentially the strongest he has ever faced.

That assessment includes the side that handed Scotland a chastening 61-21 defeat at Twickenham in 2017.

Processing the pain

The dressing room atmosphere following the defeat in Rome was described as one of the toughest Jones has experienced.

He outlined the emotional cycle of defeat, moving from confusion to anger before focusing on clinical analysis.

“No-one’s hiding. It’s horrible and what’s tough for the public is that you don’t get to be in those conversations.”

“Part of being a professional rugby player is you have to get back to work immediately and you have to park those emotions – but you use that as fuel.”

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup opener against Ireland after scans confirmed internal testicular bleeding following a blow in the nets.

The all-rounder sustained the painful impact during a practice session earlier this week, forcing a late reshuffle of the playing XI.

Travis Head has been promoted to stand-in skipper for the clash at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium.

Former captain Steve Smith has been drafted into the squad as emergency cover, while Matthew Renshaw has also joined the group.

Significant pain restricts movement

The Western Australian is suffering from significant discomfort which has severely restricted his mobility on the eve of the tournament.

Cricket Australia provided a grim update regarding the severity of the trauma following medical assessment.

Cricket Australia statement:

“Scans have confirmed internal testicular bleeding, and he will require a period of rest and rehabilitation.”

The statement added that his return to play would be guided strictly by symptom resolution.

Head jokes about ‘unfortunate’ blow

Despite the gruesome nature of the setback, the interim captain tried to keep the mood light at the toss.

Travis Head, Australia stand-in captain:

“Unfortunately Mitchie Marsh has copped a blow at training a couple of days ago and no one has been willing to massage it out for him.”

Head confirmed the rest of the line-up remains stable despite the sudden leadership change.

“He’s the unfortunate one but the rest is the same,” Head added. “It’s nice to have a couple of boys back from the Pakistan series.”

Depleted attack concerns champions

The 2021 T20 champions are already navigating a mounting injury crisis within their bowling unit.

Test captain Pat Cummins is currently sidelined with a back problem, while experienced seamer Josh Hazlewood is missing due to Achilles and hamstring issues.

With Mitchell Starc stepping away from the format, the pace attack looks uncharacteristically thin.

Big-hitting finisher Tim David also remains unavailable for the first game as he continues to rehabilitate a hamstring strain.

Australia will look to bounce back quickly when they face Zimbabwe in their second tournament fixture on Friday.

France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry lead the Olympic ice dance standings in Milan, but their new partnership has been overshadowed by serious sexual assault allegations against the skater’s former partner.

The newly formed duo produced a season’s best score in the rhythm dance to edge ahead in the race for the Olympic title at the Milano Ice Hockey Arena.

However, a dark cloud hangs over the event, with the circumstances behind their union drawing scrutiny away from the ice and towards a significant off-rink scandal.

Team GB chase historic podium

While the controversy swirls around the leaders, Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson remain firmly in contention for a medal.

The British duo are aiming to become the nation’s first figure skating medallists since the legendary Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean claimed bronze at Lillehammer 1994.

Fear and Gibson sit in a tight provisional pack, expected to fight a three-way battle for bronze against Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, and Italian home favourites Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri.

Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the three-time world champions, currently sit in second place after a fatiguing schedule in the team event.

A partnership born from turmoil

Despite the tight competition, the narrative in Milan is dominated by the leaders, who only joined forces last March.

Their collaboration was necessitated after Fournier Beaudry’s previous partner and current boyfriend, Nikolaj Sorensen, was accused of sexual maltreatment regarding an incident in 2012.

A former skater alleged she was raped by the Dane, leading to a six-year suspension from Skate Canada in 2024 based on findings from the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

Legal disputes and eligibility

Sorensen’s suspension has since been overturned on complex jurisdictional grounds.

Authorities ruled that because he was neither a Canadian citizen nor competing for the nation at the time of the alleged assault, he could not be retroactively bound by Canada’s sporting code of conduct.

With that ruling under review and no criminal investigation underway, Fournier Beaudry sought a new route to the Winter Games.

The Canadian-born athlete received French citizenship in November to clear her path to compete alongside Cizeron, a 2022 Olympic champion.

Hideki Matsuyama saw his hopes of a third WM Phoenix Open victory dashed in bizarre circumstances after an unexpected distraction disturbed his rhythm during a crucial play-off hole.

The Japanese superstar was preparing to unleash his drive on the first extra hole when a sudden, loud noise echoed across the tee box.

Visibly rattled, the former Masters champion was forced to violently abort his swing at the last possible second.

It proved to be a costly interruption for the 31-year-old, who eventually succumbed to defeat in the high-stakes shootout.

A multi-million dollar distraction

The timing of the incident could not have been worse for the fan favourite at TPC Scottsdale.

With a staggering $1.7m top prize on the line, the loss of focus at such a pivotal moment proved fatal to his chances.

While the “Greatest Show on Grass” is renowned for its raucous atmosphere, this specific disturbance appeared to cross the line of competitive fairness.

Play-off heartbreak

Matsuyama, who has previously tasted victory twice at this venue, was unable to recover his composure sufficiently to claim the win.

The disruption left spectators and commentators stunned as the opportunity for another trophy slipped away.

Questions will likely be asked regarding crowd control during the most critical moments of the tournament finale.