Joe Goossen has dismissed as “ridiculous” the claim from Leonard Ellerbe that insight into Ryan Garcia’s training camp was leaked to them via a “mole”.
In what appeared an attempt to unnerve Garcia ahead of Saturday’s fight – at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena – with Gervonta Davis, Ellerbe insisted that they had learned how Goossen and Garcia had prepared.
As he has throughout fight week Goossen saw little need to respond to the attempts of Davis and those around him to get under the 24-year-old Garcia’s skin, but when asked about the possibility of it later he told ProBox TV: “[The spy] must have been in a vent in my roof somewhere, because I have a private gym.
“There’s nobody there without mine or Ryan’s approval. I have very few people, if any, in my gym; when I close the gym down, with Ryan, Ryan has a certain amount of very trusted people that he’s had around him for years – every so often they might come. Other than that there are no outsiders in my gym. It’s never happened before and it didn’t happen now.
“You get to see the guy doing what he actually does – all of his faults and foibles and all of his positives. That’s how you spy on a guy – you watch him fight.“There’s a difference between sparring and fighting. The real way to determine what a guy possesses, technically, and in every other way, is to watch him fight.
“Ryan couldn’t care less about the assertions that there are spies in our camp. It’s beyond ridiculous – we both know it.”
Little over 48 hours before potentially the defining fight of his career Garcia looked drawn. His struggles to make weight contributed to him moving up from lightweight after stopping Luke Campbell in January 2021, but Saturday’s fight with the 28-year-old Davis is at a catchweight of 136lbs, and a rehydration clause means that they can’t weigh more than 146lbs on Saturday morning.
“We’re losing the last three pounds,” Goosen said, “so, it’s quite understandable. Plus, when you have to get up and speak in front of a crowd as you’re losing weight… He had water in front of him if he wanted a drink and he chose not to. He doesn’t look drawn.
“Are his cheeks a little [hollow]? Of course, but that’s to be expected. But to me he looks healthy, and he sounds healthy. He looks really together.
“He’s unique. He’s different. He’s fast. He’s powerful. He’s focused. Those are difficult combinations to beat. I just don’t see him losing the fight.”
