Joe Goossen expects Ryan Garcia to emerge from his defeat by Gervonta Davis “better than before”.
Garcia on Saturday fights Oscar Duarte Jurado at the Toyota Center in Houston, on the occasion of his first fight since his first defeat – via stoppage to Davis in April in Las Vegas.
He responded to that defeat at a catchweight of 136lbs by splitting with the experienced Goossen and replacing him with Derrick James, but the hall-of-fame trainer believes Garcia will regardless return improved.
“He’ll come back with a vengeance,” he said of the 25-year-old he guided to two victories before the date with Davis. “Ryan, with only 24 fights, took on a very wily, strong, unbeaten knockout artist – a left-hander, who’s proven himself over and over again to probably be one of the top three fighters out there today. That was a tall order.
“But Ryan beats just about everybody else – especially the right handers. His artillery really hits the mark against right handers. It’s a little bit tougher against southpaws. That said, Ryan will come back, and he’ll be better than before. I guarantee it.”
Mexico’s Duarte, 27, is the significant underdog against Garcia.
“God knows I hate to lose and he hates to lose, so that wasn’t something we enjoyed; it was a bitter pill to swallow,” Goossen continued. “But that’s different to a personal relationship. That’s the business end of it. I understand the nature of this business. Nothing lasts forever.
“Sometimes it doesn’t last for more than a year. Sometimes it lasts for one fight. Sometimes it lasts seven, eight years. I’m ready for all of the variables and I can live with all of them.”
