Barrios to defend title on Paul-Tyson undercard

Mario “El Azteca” Barrios will defend the WBC welterweight championship against Abel Ramos on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) won the interim 147-pound title last September when he defeated Yordenis Ugas by unanimous decision. Barrios made one defense of the interim title, against Fabian Maidana in May, before being elevated to full champion when undisputed champion Terence Crawford was declared “champion in recess” by the World Boxing Council. This will be Barrios’ first defense of the championship.

Barrios — a former 140-pound titleholder — started his career 26-0 before suffering consecutive losses to Gervonta “Tank” Davis and in his welterweight debut against Keith Thurman. He has won three consecutive fights since those losses.

Ramos (28-6-2) got back into the win column with a fifth-round stoppage of Juan Ramon Guzman in April after suffering back-to-back losses against Cody Crowley and Luke Santamaria. Ramos is a durable competitor who has been in the ring with Regis Prograis, Ivan Baranchyk and Ugas. His biggest win to date was a sixth-round stoppage of Omar Figueroa Jr. in 2021.

“I’m thrilled to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Barrios said in a statement to ESPN. “The fight on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card is huge, with millions watching live on Netflix. Abel Ramos is a tough Mexican fighter, just like me, so I know it’ll be a hell of a fight in front of my Texas people at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium.”

Barrios-Ramos joins an undercard that features Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano’s highly anticipated rematch and India’s Neeraj Goyat facing Whindersson Nunes.