Ryan Garcia picks Derrick James as new head trainer
Ryan Garcia has made his decision on a new trainer.
Garcia has decided to utilize the services of Derrick James, it was announced by Garcia on his social media platforms.
“Time for the return” was what Garcia posted, along with a handful of pictures where he was working with James. One photo has Garcia, James, and unified world titleholder Errol Spence posing for the camera.
“Thank you to Derrick James (and) Errol Spence for allowing me to join the team.”
Garcia’s announcement comes less than four weeks after Garcia lost by knockout to Gervonta Davis in a clash of unbeaten lightweight contenders in Las Vegas, who are ranked in the top 10 by The Ring. Davis and Garcia are No. 2 and 4, respectively.
The 24-year-old Garcia will work with James, who was named ‘Trainer of the Year’ for 2022 by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He currently trains Spence, Ring Magazine junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, and unbeaten lightweight contender Frank Martin.
Anthony Joshua, the former unified world heavyweight titleholder and currently ranked No. 3 by The Ring, recently joined the James stable. On April 1, James was in Joshua’s corner as the London-based fighter defeated Jermaine Franklin by unanimous decision.
About a week after the Davis fight, an announcement was made that Garcia and trainer Joe Goossen split.
The Davis fight marked the third fight Garcia had been trained by Goossen. The first fight came against Emmanuel Tagoe in April of last year, a one-sided win for Garcia in a fight where Tagoe was knocked down. Garcia’s last win, his second fight with Goossen, took place against Javier Fortuna, who was knocked down multiple times before the fight was stopped in the sixth round.
Prior to working with Goossen, Garcia was trained by Eddy Reynoso, who trains Ring Magazine super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and junior lightweight contender Oscar Valdez.
Garcia is promoted by Golden Boy and managed by Lupe Valencia.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
