Mario Barrios wins via eight-round TKO over Jovanie Santiago

UPDATE: The bout got started at 10:09 p.m. ET.

Showtime provides a busy three-bout card the night before the Super Bowl, topped by a junior lightweight title bout. The fight prior will see Mario Barrios and Jovanie Santiago face off for the WBC Continental Americas welterweight title. The event gets started at 9 p.m. ET and the Barrios-Santiago fight will likely get started early in the 10 p.m. hour.

Barrios (26-2) is looking to get back on track after stumbling his last two fights. In 2019, he won the vacant WBA junior welterweight title with a unanimous decision against Batyr Akhmedov, and then successfully defended it in 2020 with a sixth-round TKO of Ryan Karl. However, in 2021, he lost the belt to Gervonta Davis via 11th round TKO, and followed with a unanimous decision loss to Keith Thurman a year ago. Santiago is 14-2-1 and is coming off back-to-back 2021 losses to Adrien Broner and Gary Antuanne Russell.

Barrios comes into the bout as a heavy favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. He is a -600 favorite while Santiago is a +400 underdog. A Barrios stoppage is -115 and a Barrios decision is +160. A Santiago stoppage is +700 and a Santiago decision is +1000.

We’ll be offering live updates throughout the fight, including round-by-round scoring until a winner is declared.

Mario Barrios vs. Jovanie Santiago round-by-round results

Round 1: Barrios 10-9

Barrios has a big size advantage and used it to pressure Santiago into the ropes for much of the first round. Barrios landed a solid jab midway through the round, which was the biggest punch of the round. Santiago got a chopping shot in and some body shots in the final 30 seconds. The final ten seconds saw some a solid exchange between the two fighters, but neither took advantage.

Round 2: Santiago 10-9 (19-19)

Santiago did better work getting inside on Barrios. He landed a solid lead right hand in the final minute. Neither fighter was overly busy in the round, which gave Santiago a chance to even this up early on.

Round 3: Barrios 10-9 (29-28)

Barrios landed a pair of jabs in the first minute and seemed to get something going for him. He controlled the second minute, and the opened up in the final minute. He pressured Santiago into the corner and unloaded. Barrios appeared to bloody Santiago’s nose on multiple lead rights. Eventually Santiago clinched to get out of the corner, but he struggled the final minute in a clear win for Barrios.

Round 4: Barrios 10-9 (39-37)

This round featured some big exchanges but also a lot of pushing and shoving. In the final minute, he admonished both fighters for the clinching. Santiago has gotten more warnings for it. Coming out of that late clinch, Barrios landed a big hook to the body and secured the round with bigger blows.

Round 5: Barrios 10-9 (49-46)

Santiago lands a low blow early in the round and Barrios gets a minute to collect himself. We saw more pushing from Santiago and the ref keeps warning him to watch it. One has to wonder if we eventually get to a point deduction. Barrios remains the more productive fighter, landing at a higher rate even as Santiago is throwing more punches. Santiago landed a counter at the halfway point, but Barrios landed some jabs to the head and is in control of this fight to a certain extent heading into the second half.

Round 6: Barrios 10-9 (59-55)

Barrios pinned Santiago in the corner early in the round and started to unload with head shots. Santiago was able to slow things down and get out of the corner, but Barrios landed a huge body shot midway through the round. He got Santiago back in the corner and the latter can only clinch to save himself at this point. In the final 30 seconds, Barrios landed flush on Santiago and popped his head back, and closed with a left hook to the head.

Round 7: Barrios 10-9 (69-64)

Santiago’s corner threatens to stop the fight if he doesn’t get going. Barrios lands a jab and a hook to the liver early in the round. A big right staggers Santiago but he doesn’t go down. The middle minute was fairly quiet, but Barrios landed a combination in the final 30 seconds.

Round 8: Barrios TKO

Barrios unloads 30 seconds into the round and Santiago isn’t able to land anything. Santiago clinches but then at the end of the first minute, Barrios drops him with a body shot. He gets a standing eight count and Barrios comes at him to finish it. Barrios lands a big right hand and as Santiago holds on for dear life, his corner steps in to stop the fight at 1:42 of the round.