SAN ANTONIO – Not every boxer can be undefeated. Not every boxer can win a title belt. It's even rarer to win one as siblings. But that's exactly what is happening for the Barrios family.
On Saturday night, Mario Barrios, a graduate of Southwest High School, entered the ring at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and walked away with the WBA Intercontinental belt. It's was a one-sided bout, with Barrios dominating the match from the opening bell. His opponent, Jose Roman, continued backing into the corner in the later rounds, resulting in Roman's corner stopping the fight after the eighth round.
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"I felt in total control, especially in the later rounds," Barrios said Monday afternoon. "I felt I was breaking him down and I knew that I hurt him. I saw his body language and he was retreating. I knew I was getting to him."
Roman was knocked to the canvas twice after Barrios suffered a cut near his left eye, which came after an accidental headbutt in the first round. In the end, Barrios prevailed, raising his first professional title belt with family, friends and fans in attendance.
"I still can't put it into words. Excited isn't even the word to sum it up. The feeling was over the top. It was amazing."
"El Azteca" improves to 22-0 with 14 knockouts fighting as a super lightweight. His performance on Showtime, leading up to the unification victory for Mikey Garcia, not only improved his knockout streak to six but also accomplished a personal goal for the boxing fans in the Alamo City.
"It's amazing bringing this (the title belt) back to our city," Barrios said. "This is what me and my sister want to do: bring titles back to San Antonio; bring big fights back to San Antonio."
His sister, Selina, is also a professional boxer fighting as a lightweight. The "Aztec Queen" is currently the NABF lightweight champion and most recently improved to 4-0 with two knockouts after knocking out Aida Satybaldinova, who is referred to as the "Female GGG."
"It was a dream come true to win my title," Selina Barrios said. "That is why you work so hard to become a champion. I've been boxing since I was 9 years old. I don't take anything for granted; this is my time. To win a title so early in my career shows I am doing something correct in order to win these."
The title belts are not going to their heads. The siblings remain humble, focused and looking to better each other with every fight in their careers.
"I want to be where my brother is at. We push each other and he gives me advice when I'm holding my training camp. I just want us to continue to succeed in this sport."
Mario added, "My sister and I have always had a very close relationship. We are very competitive with each other but that pushes us. I have this (title belt) now and she wants an even bigger belt. We are just going to continue to try to bring the titles back home."
Selina is scheduled to fight in late September in Corpus Christi while Mario is looking for one more bout this fall before the end of 2018.
Twitter: @Boxer_Barrios
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 Sports for over 15 years and is an award winning sports producer. For story ideas, email sports@ksat.com