The boxing world has had time to analyze and debate the merits of Ryan Garcia’s pairing with veteran trainer Joe Goossen ever since news of the popular lightweight’s split with Eddy Reynoso broke via Garcia’s social media accounts in February.

Some industry insiders were excited about the team-up, trusting that Goossen’s traditional training methods will bring out the best in Garcia, currently The Ring’s No. 5-rated lightweight. While others, including members of the media, wondered if Goossen might be too much of a disciplinarian for the 23-year-old contender to handle.

Others – mostly salty fans – pooh-poohed the new partnership, insinuating that Garcia’s head simply isn’t in the sport given his well-documented mental health issues and allegations of being less-than-dedicated while part of Team Reynoso.

“When you see me in the ring on April 9, you’ll see if I’m dedicated or not,” Garcia told a media roundtable before the kick-off press conference for his ring return against Emmanuel Tagoe in early March.

Indeed, the proof of Garcia’s commitment to boxing, as well as his chemistry with Goossen, will play out in the ring for all to see on Saturday in San Antonio, where Garcia faces the once-beaten Ghanaian in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions/DAZN card at the Alamodome.

Michael Nunn and trainer Joe Goossen in the gym in 1987.

After just a few weeks of working with Goossen in San Diego, Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) was singing the praises of the respected coach who did stellar work with the likes of Michael Nunn, Joel Casamayor, Diego Corrales and the Ruelas brothers, among several other notable fighters over the decades.

“I’m a soldier for Joe,” said Garcia, who hasn’t fought since a seventh-round stoppage of Luke Campbell last January. “He’s a general who will be there in the trenches with you. He’s someone I want to fight for.”

Garcia says he also wants to learn from Goossen, who’s trained fighters and worked world-class corners since the late 1970s.

“I bring speed, explosive (power), timing, precision and killer instinct (to the fighter-trainer relationship),” Garcia said. “Joe brings old-school fundamentals – he’s been cleaning up my technique, minimizing my mistakes.”

Goossen isn’t trying to overhaul Garcia’s style, according to the Instagram star (8.7 million followers and counting), the respected coach is merely fine-tuning aspects of his game, such as helping Garcia develop a power jab.

“I’m known for my hook and I’ve got a pretty good right cross,” Garcia said, “but if I can master the jab, I can go to another level.”

Garcia will also need to get back on a regular fighting schedule to reach the next level. He only fought once in 2020 and in 2021. The pandemic was the main reason for his lack of activity in 2020. Personal issues kept him out of the ring last (and also likely contributed to the rift with Team Reynoso and the star of that stable, Canelo Alvarez, who publicly questioned Garcia’s dedication to training).

Following his up-from-the-canvas victory over Campbell, Garcia had been scheduled to return in the spring and summer (vs. Jorge Linares and Javier Fortuna) but mental health issues – mainly anxiety – kept him out of the ring for the rest of the year.

He received a lot of support from his fans and much of the boxing industry, but also a considerable amount of derision from his detractors as well as some segments of the media.

“It was a hard year to endure with all the negative talk,” said Garcia, who added that it wasn’t boxing that impacted his mental health.

“Outside the ring is where the issues were,” he said. “As far as boxing is concerned, nothing changed. I love boxing. I was still competitive. I’d still watch boxing and think to myself ‘I’m gonna whoop his ass.’

“My anxiety was building up. I was getting panic attacks, panicking for no reason. I needed to stay away (to address it) … it’s best to talk about it. It’s worse when you hold it in. It’s all good now. I’ve matured.”

Emmanuel Tagoe

Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) can be considered a “mature opponent”, even though his resume lacks legitimate lightweight contenders. The 33-year-old is a product of the rough-and-tumble boxing scene of Accra, Ghana, the capital of the West African nation that has spawned the likes of hall-of-famer Azumah Nelson and former welterweight titleholder Ike Quartey.

Tagoe, who has not lost a fight since his pro debut in 2004, claims to be the nephew of three-time two-division titleholder Nana Konadu, so he’s got boxing pedigree on his side, but his main assets vs. Garcia is probably his unorthodox style and unyielding confidence.

To his credit, he’s not among Garcia’s detractors, although he says the Californian will be “easy work” and the DAZN main event will serve as his “showcase.”

“Ryan Garcia is a man,” Tagoe said. “I’ll never call him a coward because he’s fighting me.”

Garcia’s out to prove that he’s on the level of the lightweights The Ring currently ranks ahead of him: champion George Kambosos, Teofimo Lopez, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis. To do that he’s got to beat Tagoe, and he’s very confident that he can do that.

“I have a feeling I’m going to take him out between the first and third rounds, but if it turns into a hard fight I’m OK with that,” Garcia said. “I like hard fights.”

 

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