Mauricio Sulaiman understands the criticism his sanctioning organization has taken for approving a welterweight title bout between champion Mario Barrios and previously unranked Ryan Garcia.

The WBC president nonetheless defended its decision to move forward with the fight. They’re expected to meet February 21 at a venue to be announced.

“I don’t think anyone can even question that he has the ability to win that fight,” Sulaiman told The Ring regarding Garcia. “It’s a different scenario if he was a non-proven fighter, but Ryan Garcia is an elite fighter. He can certainly win the fight. You cannot only be judged by your last performance. It’s certainly something to consider, but his overall track record is that of a very good, elite fighter.”

Garcia’s marketability is an undeniable, important component to promoting his bout with Barrios as a pay-per-view main event. His star status notwithstanding, Garcia’s accomplishments in the ring the past two-plus years don’t appear to warrant a shot at Barrios’ belt in his next fight.

The Victorville, California, native was an 11-1 favorite to beat Rolando Romero eight months ago. He dropped Garcia with a right hand in the second round and defeated his rival on all three scorecards in the 12-round main event of The Ring’s pay-per-view show May 2 in New York.

Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) hasn’t fought since the setback. He had surgery on his right hand, which he said was damaged before he faced Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) and hindered him.

Still, Garcia, 27, hasn’t won a fight at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, never held a title other than the WBC interim lightweight championship and served a one-year suspension prior to meeting Romero for a failed performance-enhancing drug test after he defeated Devin Haney in April 2024 (overturned to a no-contest).

The New York State Athletic Commission fined Garcia $1.2 million in addition to his one-year suspension. Garcia also came in more than three pounds overweight for what was supposed to be a 140-pound title fight with Haney.

Garcia’s boorish behavior before and after he faced Haney, including an arrest for felony vandalism at a Beverly Hills hotel in June 2024, prompted the WBC to ban him 18 months ago. That suspension was lifted as part of the decision to sign off on his shot at San Antonio’s Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs), who settled for a majority draw with then-46-year-old Manny Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) on July 19 in Las Vegas.

“Well, we have absolutely a track record of being very close to Ryan Garcia’s career for many years,” Sulaiman said. “We have been public about his mental wellness situation for many years. Before the fight with Haney, we were very open and very concerned about what was happening after the press conference, which I attended. And we did everything possible to address that matter before the fight. After the fight, the PED violation became public. And especially his behavior and his complete outbursts that we all know about, the WBC decided to expel him from the WBC. But we always kept close to him, and we always continued to offer help and support, and kept the door open for him to get better, which he did.

“And we believe in opportunities. We all deserve a second opportunity in life. We all deserve an opportunity to redeem [ourselves], to take the proper course of life. And that’s what the WBC did. We were criticized for giving Manny Pacquiao an opportunity, claiming different things, and you saw the performance against Barrios. So, I feel very strong and proud of welcoming a kid who deserves another opportunity, who has battled strongly against the demons of addictions and [for his] mental wellness. And I’m proud to give him an opportunity to fight for the WBC title.”