Former champion and San Antonio-native Mario “El Azteca” Barrios snapped his two-fight losing streak with a razor sharp, career-rejuvenating TKO against gutsy Jovanie Santiago in Saturday’s co-feature at the Alamodome.

“I felt myself breaking him down little by little,” Barrios said afterward. “I just had to be patient. My counter right hand is something that we’ve been working on at the gym in Vegas. I feel I’m definitely up there with the [welterweight] elite. I still have something to prove. I promised my city a world title. I got it in 2019 and I will do it again.”