Mario Barrios has WBC gold and, he will tell you, intimate knowledge of how Tim Tszyu loses his own world title this Sunday.
“Because,” the champ says, “I found out a long time ago that Brian Mendoza can crack”.
Only a fortnight after claiming the WBC interim welterweight title, Barrios has jetted into the Gold Coast this week to cheer close mate and fellow American Mendoza against Australia’s Tim Tszyu.
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While Tszyu is a strong favourite to retain the WBO super welterweight title he himself only received a few weeks back – after unified king Jermell Charlo was stripped – Barrios heads a list of US stars now tipping an upset.
And at the top of the pile is Charlo — who is publicly, and extremely loudly, tipping the undefeated Aussie to become a third straight KO victim for Mendoza.
Elsewhere, undefeated lightweight star Shakur Stevenson has also come out overnight in the US, telling media there “ain’t nothing special” about Tszyu.
“I think Mendoza beats Tim Tszyu,” Stevenson said.
“I’m not a big Tim Tszyu fan
“I really ain’t see nothing too special about Tim Tszyu.”
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia shortly after landing for fight week, Barrios was far more complimentary of the Sydney star – “he’s a phenomenal fighter” – but backed Stevenson’s upset call.
The champ revealed he has become close friends with Mendoza ever since using the big punching New Mexican during his preparations for a 2022 showdown against Keith Thurman.
Despite losing that bout, Barrios said he got to see, first hand, the incredible power he expects will be enough to upset ‘The Soul Taker’ at Gold Coast Convention Centre this Sunday.
“And now this past year everyone else is finding out, too,” the champ added, alluding to Mendoza’s two most recent KO wins over Jeison Rosario and Sebastian Fundora.
“Brian has real power.
“Danger is always there when you’re sparring him.
“He’s such a nice dude but, when you’re training with him, he is moving, moving, it’s almost like he lures you to sleep.
“And that’s when he cracks you with something you don’t expect. He catches you with a big shot when you least expect it.”
Barrios also praised his close mate’s determination to be great.
“I met Brian before I fought Keith Thurman,” he continued.
“I’d sparred with him in Las Vegas and so, before Thurman, I spoke with my manager and said ‘I want to have Brian help me get ready’.
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“So he became a sparring partner and that’s where we got close.
“For my last two fights I’ve also continued training in Las Vegas so Brian and I have got even closer, he’s family.
“That’s why when they initially brought this fight up, we were at training and I told him ‘if your fight is after mine, I will definitely fly to Australia and support you’.
“My fight ended up two weeks before his, so here I am.
“Because I love the way Brian has taken these big fights, even on short notice.
“It just proves his dedication, his determination.
“He’s a hungry fighter.
“There are just so many things I admire about him as a fighter, as a friend.
“And that’s the reason I’ve come all the way across the world to support him.”
So a win by knockout?
“I’m not sure how he gets it done,” Barrios continued.
“But I’m here to see Brian Mendoza get his hand raised.
“I know he has a difficult task ahead of him because Tim Tszyu is champion for a reason, all the hype behind him, he really is living up to his father’s legacy.
“But Brian, he just needs to go in there and execute his game plan.”
Asked about Tszyu, Barrios said: “I think he’s a phenomenal fighter.
“A great champion.
“I was a big fan of his father, Kostya Tszyu, and this is one of those rare circumstances where the son really is living up to his father’s legacy.
“So I’m really looking forward to this fight.”
A year after suffering his first career losses to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and Keith Thurman, Barrios went and won himself the WBC interim strap a fortnight ago against Yordenis Ugas — the last person to defeat Manny Pacquiao.
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Fighting on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez and Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas, Barrios appeared set to finish Ugas, who forced to have his right eye assessed by a ringside doctor three times.
The American eventually took the decision easily on all three scorecards, 117-108, 118-107, 118-107.
Asked about the win, Barrios revealed he had expected the referee to stop the fight, so easily was he winning.
“It actually got to the point where I was starting to feel bad,” he said.
“His eye was swollen, his face was beaten down and I was landing all these hard shots.
“I was looking at the referee like ‘man, you need to do something’ … it was a good night for us.”
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