Ryan Garcia and trainer Joe Goossen will not work together going forward, ESPN’s Mike Coppinger reported on Twitter, following Garcia’s knockout loss to Gervonta “Tank” Davis on April 22.
Coppinger says there has been no decision on Garcia’s next trainer, which will continue an early career cycle of the 24-year-old switching cornermen, as Goossen was the replacement for Eddy Reynoso and a stint with Canelo Alvarez’s team that saw the sides part fairly bitterly.
For now, there is no bitterness here, but there was immediate speculation after the fight that Garcia and Goossen would be done. While Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins did not attend Garcia’s post-fight presser for their own reasons — less dramatically, it’s been said that they had dinner reservations — both have spoken about that, and both have been encouraging about Garcia’s future.
Goossen, on the other hand, has been a different story, with a lot of rumblings that the partnership would not be extended further.
It’s often a troubling sign for a fighter to switch trainers as often as Garcia is doing at this stage of his career, still lacking a truly notable win, although at least in terms of business, the Davis fight was a huge success.
But some fighters do finally find the right fit. Some felt Goossen was that guy, but apparently not. There won’t be a shortage of trainers willing to work with Ryan, but it can be tough for fighter and trainer to mesh, and being a great trainer doesn’t guarantee a partnership with a fighter will work. Some fighters have succeeded greatly with trainers who really don’t have a lot going for a “stable” otherwise, just because their personalities work well together and they have a good feel for one another.
We’ll see where Garcia goes next, and it’ll be an interesting story wherever he winds up.