It seemed that Joe Goosen’s fate was sealed when he failed to make an appearance at the post-fight press conference. While Oscar De La Hoya cited death threats as his reason for not attending, it seemed that Goosen was simply not invited.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger is reporting that Garcia and Goosen has parted ways.
It’s not uncommon for professional fighters to switch trainers after a major loss or to work with multiple trainers throughout their career. Even legendary fighter Oscar De La Hoya had 6-7 trainers during his Hall of Fame career.
Recent reports suggest that there was some internal conflict within Ryan Garcia’s team. Apparently, Garcia was not the easiest fighter to motivate and stick to a schedule, and there was also an issue with a mole within the camp.
It turns out that someone within Garcia’s team was providing information to Gervonta Davis’ camp about what was happening in Garcia’s camp. This is how Davis learned that Garcia may have had a preexisting injury before the fight, after being hurt with a body punch during sparring.
As you can see in this clip from Showtime All-Access, it was ultimately a body punch that caused Garcia to decide not to continue fighting.
Some individuals claim that Garcia gave up during the fight and cite this interaction with Goosen as evidence that he could have persevered.
“Did it hit that rib part at all, Ryan?”
Garcia replied, “Yeah,” to which Goossen responded, “I knew it.”
“I didn’t wanna continue because of my rib. But it’s OK. I don’t wanna make excuses.”
I understand the viewpoint that Garcia may have quit, but I feel it’s unfair to criticize him considering the sacrifices he made to ensure the fight occurred. Garcia agreed to reduced payment despite being responsible for a significant portion of the PPV sales, as well as accepting a catchweight and rehydration limit.
In your opinion, who would be the ideal candidate for Garcia’s next trainer?
