Want to welcome to the podcast. One of the great trainers in boxing,
one of the great trainers in boxing history, is going to be inducted into
the Hall of Fame this summer. It is none other than Joe Goosen and
Joe more so than the Hall of Fame that's coming up. You've been in
the news quite a bit in the last couple of months because of your association
as the trainer for Ryan Garcia in the big fight that just concluded against Tank
Davis, huge mega fight that over a million pay per view buys a twenty
two million dollars plus gate, one of the biggest fights we've seen in boxing
in a long time. So, but more notably in the last couple of
days has come the news that you and Ryan Garcia are no longer going to
work together. That was your third fight with each other. I was wondering
if you could just sort of tell me the details of what went down there,
how that happened. Did you part ways with him? Did he tell
you he didn't want to be with you? That anybody bothered to tell you?
How did that happen? And what's going on with that? Yeah,
Well, before I even get you on on that, and I'll be more
of un happy to discuss that with you. Just wanted the safe Thank you
for having me on. Uh, you're one of the great writers of all
time. I've known you for what twenty something years now, Danny who I
mean, so a long time, and I appreciate what you do. And
you're a polific writer by the way, and so you keep me busy reading
your stuff all the time. But that being said, yeah, Ryan and
I said, we had basically almost a year to date, um run with
three fights, like you had mentioned, to go for tuna and then tanked.
Eventually it was an incredible leaving UM. It was, I mean one
of the most electric clouds I've ever been in. It was something else that
night in the pay per view show and everything shows that the fights sold out
a an hour's time, so it was. It was a huge event,
a huge event. And Ryan worked very very hard. He really did um
you know, but he doesn't he's a steering his kid and he was very
dedicated and we have a tremendous relationship and we still do. But Ryan called
me, I want to say, maybe Sunday dayDay after days I went in
the day I did, he called me about Sunday and the day before the
news hit about us and not working together where you know, obviously I will
always be friends with Ryan. Look, I had Ryan when he was seventeen
years old in my gym. I'm the one who encouraged him to turn pro
before he was eighteen. He was he had already done everything he could in
the amateurs, pretty much went to Mexico, had a few fights there,
turned pro in August when he turned eighteen, six years ago. O be
seven years this August, and you know Ryan, I had put a great
offer on the table for Brian and his family with the investor in cash and
apartment, you know, the whole nuye. You know how it was,
and I didn't get the I didn't get the deal done with him, although
I really wanted to. He's one of the first young guys like that at
that age that I would ever even think about, you know, that didn't
would go to the Olympics or something like that, or when an Olympic medal
um. He hadn't done that, but he had. You know, I
had a lot of the uh listen, Joe. He had he had like
two two hundred ten amateur wins. It's not everybody knows he was a top
amateur, and I think post people that have followed this whole situation knew that
when you did link up with him as a professional trainer, that you had
had that experience with him early on as an amateur. Well I okay,
not everybody's aware of that. So but my point being was, look,
even though we didn't make a deal, and I had put some work into
it and put a deal on the table, we stayed fast friends after that.
Okay. Then when Ryan eventually signed with Golden Boy, um, throughout
his career after different fights, he goes, did you see that fight?
To tell about? What did you think? Because that so we stayed very
friendly even after what was a disappointing business venture that never got off the ground.
And I say that to preclude what I'm gonna say now is that the
same thing applies here. Ryan and I will always be friends, will always
be friendly. We've got a very good personal connection to each other, okay,
Um, and I cherished that, I really do. Ryan is a
very special kid. He's he's he's really bright. He appeals to a lot
of my you know, senses, and he's um a tremendous tremendous fighter,
an athlete. So when Ryan called me Sunday night, we had a very
pleasant fuck. Trust me, there was no animosity, There was no harsh
words. If anything, there was a lot of things that were un said
that we didn't have to say because I pretty much understand him and he understands
me, and he understands how he can talk to me. Did you kind
of know Joe though when he called? Did you sort of know like,
Okay, I'm getting fired? Basically, No, it wasn't even about getting
fired. I mean that that's a harsh term. And of course you can
look at it. Oh you're not working for him anymore? You were fired?
Yeah, okay, you say that, But it wasn't like that,
say normally, Um, if it's if it's something that is an irritant and
it's something that bothers, they were not going to call you a fighter,
is not going to call you personally okay, if they if they like you
and respect you and enjoy your company and can appreciate what's been done for him
through me, and he did the right thing. He called me, okay,
like he didn't have his people call you. He didn't just let you
hear it from the press. No, by the way, I say that,
I say that this is what I love about Ryan. And I told
him, I said, Ryan, I said, you're a real man.
I said, it takes it takes a lot of looks about to pick up
the phone and make that call yourself. Okay. And and it wasn't even
like, you know, the reason for this, the reason for that.
And it was very you know, like I said, we were both kind
of aware of what the outcome in this whole situation was going to be.
I was pretty much aware him. It was not a shock to me.
Um. And you know, of course, if things had turned out differently,
maybe we'd be seeing a different too. Let me ask you the why.
I mean, obviously, if you win, if he wins the fight,
then you know, usually things don't change like this. But okay,
so he asked him, I mean, just to interrupt you one second.
I mean, that's happened to me, horror, okay, more than once.
But sometimes you can sometimes you can win and still you know, but
I guess stand up with with with without the job as the questions if you're
if you're still going to have a friendship of some type, and you know
you talk about his work ethic and he's a stand up guy by calling you
on his own and it sound like he fought a bad fight. He didn't
win, but he didn't fight like badly. He had a great first round.
He was dominating in the second round for the knockout anyway, Mike.
But the point I'm making is, why can't why wouldn't you, Why wouldn't
he want to stay together? If everything was as good as you're talking about
between you guys, persons, Listen, you know there's always more than one
spoke in the wheel, okay, and and and so there's a lot of
things to be considered, right, a lot of voices to be heard,
And I understand that as well. And so I'm sure it was more than
just a singular decision. By right. It may have been I didn't have
and but do you never know? So, Um, he could have been
a general consensus on the team's part regardless. It's okay, I'm fine,
Um, Like no hard feelings is your point there is, Danny. I
can tell you right now, you couldn't. You couldn't. You could put
me under a lie detector test right now, And I can tell you right
now, I have nothing but admiration for Ryan go seeing nothing but admiration.
I believe I really like the kid a lot. Listen, I like the
kid. Also, I've known him since he basically termed professionals, So I
he's a very likable guy. I mean, I know sometimes people who have
never met him or whatever, they just see the persona on the social media
and maybe some you know, sound bites and maybe it doesn't, you know,
scrub some people the wrong way. But I agree with you. He's
a He's a heartfelt, nice kid. Him he is. He's got a
good heart. And listen, you know, if he feels bad, he
needs to go in another direction. That's his choice. And I am not
hurt by it at all. I don't really am not hurt by it at
all. As he was preparing for the fight, did you feel like there
was And you know, it's it's your third fight together, so it wasn't
like you didn't know each other. You had worked with him, as you
mentioned as an amateur, you had had the two wins together. Did you
feel it were there any issues in the training camp that you were maybe not
on the same page. I heard some things about how he would only come
to the gym on days where he was sparring and not necessarily to do other
activities in terms of his preparation. Could you could you shed some light on
what was going on there and was there an issue in the camp of any
kind? Well, I can tell you something right now. Even a woman
chanko right sure, Okay. He lives outcoming in the area is let by
let him Ventura County. He was Camlio and he's got a house and that's
what he's got on his house. He's got a gym his backyard, Okay,
and that's where he trains. Listen, Um, I've had I've been
in plenty of situations where you would go you need to tell me this guy
fought that many champions and he fought out He trained out of his backyard.
Yeah, okay, Um. I had Randy Shields, you know, along
with his father who was his head trainer and manager. And that's where I
sold my eleven year apprenticeship with Randy Shields from basically seventy three. Um,
whenever he retired in the eighties. And you know, he fought runs,
he fought Planner, he fought Anitas, he fought Quavis, he caught bumped,
us. He caught McQuary six world champions. Yes, where we trained
in his backyard. So I think you mentioned roman Chenko and what roman No,
I'm just talking about roman Chenko. Has I said he has his gym
and his back yard as well. The guy I started with had a gym
in his backyard. He fought six world champions. So are you saying that
when when he wasn't in your gyms? Man, I'm getting the Ryan part.
The Ryan part is this when we sparred, which was normally three days
a week, we sparred at my gym. You know, we you know,
we we sit. The spine is conducive to a gym, and and
it's it's it's you know, we had the ring and the heat. And
there's also when when we weren't spine, we trained at his home gym.
That's so you were going to It wasn't like he was not with you,
He just was not at your gym. We never missed a day, dam
Okay, that's all day. You fified day that we missed training. Okay,
that's I think some people heard that and were like, wow, he's
like training on his own while Joe was in his gym, and you only
were together. I'm glad you asked me that. Okay, if that's if
that's the case, um, and that's the word out there now. Uh,
Tuesdays, Thursday's, Saturdays. We would train at his gym in the
valley, not at my I have to say that everything else we needed.
We have the double end of the f We had the far that you know,
We had the upper cut bag, we have the light heavy bag,
we have the big heavy bag. We have the myths, we have the
body cushion. No, we did everything up there. It certainly seemed like
he was like he certainly put in the training because he seemed an excellent condition.
And I say that because otherwise he would have seemed to perhaps struggle a
lot more to make the weight restrictions that were placed on him in the contract.
No problem, they we we we had. We had gotten down the
thirty nine forty forty one two weeks before the fight, and we were already
there. We were there the whole time. All we had to do was
just cut back um, some of his eating habits, which were he never
he never missed the one meal, um. And we hit it right on
the dot. Basically, you know, can you can you tell me a
little bit about the rib injury situation that that apparently took place with the sparring
partner prior to the fight that you know, for obvious reasons, somebody wanted
to talk about. And I actually give Ryan a lot of credit because he's
never really he didn't you know when when asked those types of questions in the
post fight, he just left alone and didn't make any excuse, didn't go
there. Well, and I see why, because I have to tell you
it was it was something that really wasn't a factor. Um, there's not
a fighter in this world that doesn't bruise a knuckle, shoulder pain. You
did this, You did that. Everyone you know it, Danny, even
around a long time, nobody goes into those fights without a little bit of
a nagging something or other. Okay, Ryan, he was, He was
in such great shape and the physical and otherwise that he never missed a day
of training. Never. Okay. So if you even if you had something
that felt that feels it feels a little bruised here, all right, if
he had, if his elbow feel weird, I'd pull him off a sparing
for a few days. So let's let's dispel let's dispel the myth then that
there was no that whatever happened with the rib was not in any way the
type of thing that had the team or anybody thinking this fighting to be postponed.
No, okay, never. So that tells me that that maybe,
like you said, there was some kind of niggle there or some kind of
little discomfort, but not anything that was gonna put the fight in jeopardy.
That it that it can't be used as any type of excuse for whatever happened.
No way, No, he Ryan wouldn't use that as as you said
it. It's like I said, uh, I've got fighters in my gym
right now, everyone's got a problem, right ecasically everyone Okay, understood,
But but you got to remember these guys are warriors, and what would put
you and I down for a week in bed? They slough off and keep
you driving. You know, it could be in bed for a month.
Man, it's the nature of the beast. You are going to get banged
up when you use sparred for two months. Okay, he's worked for two
months, three months, you're you're here, he is, someone's gonna happen.
You ain't hit a knuckle off of the head, top of the head.
You're gonna throw um uh, you know you're gonna get hit a show
round could bruise it. In just a million things that could happen. You
get a swollen lip, you get a bruised eye. It's almost impossible to
avoid it. It's almost impossible. Let's talk a little bit about the fight
itself. I mean, you've you've addressed the split, you've addressed the training
camp, the perceived rib injury. Now he gets into the fight and he
has you know, I gave him the first round. I think most of
the judges gave him the first round. He fought very well, so yeah,
I mean he controlled him with the jab. He seemed to be,
you know, trying to trying to, you know, get the distance down,
and he was doing his job. Second round. I think you said
in the first after the round one in the corner, you know that you
fought a good round, and you know that was excellent. Keep doing what
you're doing. Basically. Second round domination in the sense had him holding on,
landed some left hooks, nothing that knocked him down or anything, but
was doing image. It seemed like at least a little bit, and you
got to be thrilled with what you've seen through what around in three quarters?
If I'm not, would you say so? At that point was thrilled with
reservations right, and then comes to the left that knocks him on his button
and support the reservation. So when you saw him get knocked down, you
knew we'd done well in round one. You knew we'd done extremely well in
the second round up to that point. And then you see him floored,
didn't seem too hurt, got up pretty quickly. He finished around No,
no, real didn't seem like his legs were gone or anything like that seemed
okay. What was your what was your thought when you came back to the
corner? Are we in trouble? Is you gonna shake it up? What
was your what were you thinking of? What were you tell? Well?
Man, you know it's the first you know, I think that you want
to assess is how how you know there's certain you know tells that theory're gonna
be able to identify? And then what was your thought when you saw it?
And then I was satisfied that he recovered quickly because, like I said,
he worked hard every day and he ran I mean his legs were really
really solid. Um, he ran a lot and he ran often. Um,
so the assessment was good. Now I think I behavious. I haven't
occurred, but I think I know my exportation was probably something along the lines
of getting back to boxing, right, he which which which was basically in
a nutshell the game plan to him. You know, you're not going to
punch with a puncher, even though he's a great puncher himself, because Tan
can hurt you with either hand at anytime. Well, I listen, granted
that, yeah, and always nobody dispute that. But then again, you
know, you also have some physical attributes that favor you. Um, you
should put those good use and um, you know, I mean that was
discussed. Then. You know, we had lengthy discussions about game plan and
if you could you know not you don't have to believer the point, but
maybe take you know, twenty seconds and and say what the game plan was.
Like I said, I think it's self evident to anybody that knows,
uh anything about boxing. I mean, I think it's a patently obvious what
the game plan should be. You don't you don't have to be a rocket
scientist to figure it out. I mean, everyone that you know that I've
ever talked to that who respect in the game, including my home thoughts,
would be what you could probably figure out as well. So tell me if
I'm righting the hold on, hold on him and Danny, Okay, if
you were me and I'm gonna, I'm gonna guarantee you're gonna be able to
give me the game plan that was discussed in our camp. Tell me in
so many words and in a couple sentences, if you were telling Ryan,
here's what you need to do tonight, go let me hear what you have
to say. You're the taller guy with the longer reach, You're a little
quicker. Stay on the outside, jab jab pick your spots. If he
lets the hand down, go with the left hook. But box him,
box him, box him. And if you come back to this corner having
put your back on the ropes, I'm gonna I'm gonna smack your face.
How much do I owe you for giving me that great game plan? Am
I right? How much do I owe you for giving me that great game
plan? I've known, I've known you for twenty years. I love you.
So that's a free boy, Danny. That's what I'm saying. You
just gave pretty much concise uh rundown of the game plan okay, and the
story. I mean, what do you need to here from? Okay?
I wanted I wanted to make sure. I don't want to make assumptions.
But the bottom line is, uh, I guess tried to put it to
the opposite of your assumption, would be, would be you know that it
didn't it didn't work out, It wouldn't know it would not be very smart.
But okay, yeah, so there you go. I mean, so
now you watch now, you watch the value hard guy wouldn't wouldn't say that
to what you just said. You watch the rounds go by. You know
he's competing, but he's losing the rounds. And at what point did you
feel like, Okay, we're probably here, we're probably in trouble. Here
to listen, I try not to let negative thoughts get into my head.
I'm always looking for something where we can capitalizes on. I think you know
you've seen enough fights. I've been in enough fights where you don't ever's hope,
you don't ever go or don't know. I've had rounds where we've lost
and on going into the tenth and final round and still win by knockout has
happened more than a handful of times, okay, Um, or where you've
lost half the fight in the beginning and then you know you're gonna come on
and you know, shifting down, shift into another gear in the second half
of the fight. So I'm always looking for the win or the way to
pull it out if you are behind. So my whole idea is always,
um, we've got X amount of rounds left, what do we even need
to do here to win this fight? Sometimes he boils down to you saying,
hey, it's a tenth round. You got to calm amount body.
You're down by three to four rounds. You go, look at the burgly
realsy, we're geting to knock out. You can knock this guy outsiness by
decision, Okay. I mean so things of those are the discussions that happen
in the ring, albeit briefly. And you know, um, if I've
ended in the seventh, so that hold of the tession that would have taken
place going down the stretch, you know, never manifested himself for the obvious
reason that Blake was stopped. All right, So I want to I want
to ask you about the knockout. I mean he obviously, uh, you
know, he got up from the second round knockdown. I think it was
a big enough shot where a lot of guys might not have gotten up the
way that Tank Davis punches. He went down on the body shot in the
seventh round. It was a really kind of a weird, delayed reaction.
Obviously he was It took a couple of seconds, it felt like to get
the pain from the you know, the shot to his brain when he was
down. Did you think he was going to get up? I knew it
was a bad one by the way he reacted. It was a delayed reaction.
Um, I've had enough experience with great body punchers, guys that deliver
them, and guys that have absorbed, and you'll hear it from every fighter.
They'd rather get hit on the chin, but on the liver. I
actually wrote that in one of my columns after the fight year one hundred percent
right about that. Yeah. And if you've ever been hit in the belly,
just a belly alone, unawares, hates devastating sense, an expanding pain
that starts set us, then expands and just paralyzed. My perception of that
punch was a lot of people described that as a liver shot. I've watched
the replay like a thousand times. It was one hundred percent not a liver
shot. It was above the liver was on the rib, right on the
rib cage, like right on the rib cage. Well, no, no,
Danny, the de liver sits behind the rib cage. But I no,
no, I know that. But it didn't seem like it was in
the spot where the liver would be impacted. It was really more than rib
you know, you know, deliver is bigger than you think. It runs
from the bottom of your right rib the lows s grib up and across towards
your stren up. So it comes up and across. That's not a one
number two. That's why when you get hit would say look to the body.
Letsten. He wraps around your elbow and hits you on the side.
It's a shock wave from that punch that then sends the shock wave through your
body and through your liver. And this even though you're not see it on
it correctly, the shock wave hits it. Not only a great trainer,
but a great doctor also. Thank you for the explanation. No and all
seriousness, So I wanted to know. Then, There's been a lot of
people. I've read it. I've heard it from people in the business,
from fans. This is not my personal viewpoint. A lot of people look
at and say Ryan Garcia could have gotten up and continued, but he quit.
What is Joe Goosen's take on that perception. No, No, I've
seen guys. Look, I've seen guys. Frank Take on the gold medal
in nineteen eighty four, the same year as Tyson was an alternid and my
fighter my gun was an altid. Okay, Frank Take won the goal.
We eventually and he was a Great Fighter Division World champion sixty and sixty eight
pound of Frank Take. We went up against him in ju Live of eighty
eight for the IBF World titled Mike Nun Against Frank Take. Mike Nun hit
Frank Take with the liver shot again, Mike Nun the soutball, light tank
and Ryan the right hander and Take the right hander like Ryan, so that
that's the same set up as the power hand, the left hand of the
southball right in front of the sensitive part of your body, which is the
right rip cage. So Mike Nun hit Frank Tape. I'm telling you,
with a four inch liver shot, it didn't look like anything. Frank Tape
could not get up, he cried. At nine, he finally got counted
out by Mills Lane, the Great Mills Lane, the soul, and we
got counted out. And let me just tell you something. How could you
imagine a two division world champion, gold middle winner quitting now? Sorry,
these liver shops are debilitating. They are debilitating. No matter what your mind
says, the body says, no way, dude, no way, it's
not happening to you. Are not continuing you. In fact, I mean
it's going to take a few more of the seconds here before I even let
you catch your well and listen. I can. I appreciate all of that
that you've said. I you know, when you get hit with those types
of shots. I've watched the thousand times. I understand exactly what you mean.
I think the reason why some people question Ryan's heart and whether he could
have continued is because it wasn't like he was. This was not Virgil Hill
getting knocked out by Roy Jones, where he's laying on the cameras with a
broken rib. This was Ryan Garcia hearing nine ten and getting up at ten
and a half. Okay, look, look, well you're talking about the
Virgil Hill punch. That was a wicked whipping right hand. No, no,
but I'm calling about there's a different Wait a minute, only you brought
it up. It was a whipping right hand by Roy Jones on the opposite
side of the Liver To hill, the Virgil Hill, and it was a
whipping, crushing shot. Okay. On the other hand, Conversely, when
none hit Taint that I talked about, he was a four inch stab.
I just think that was nothing. So whether it's a whip shot that breaks
your libs or it's a perfectly placed stab light on the liver, either one
of those, uh, will send you into a ten of town. So
the only, the only thing, the only point I'm making is not about
the last one I want to make. Okay, Not everybody, not everybody
has to roll around on the Kansas. And he moved, um and with
good reason, um because he hit with some guys just are paralyzed by it
and can't move. I'm only making them, only making the point. And
I don't think he quit. That's not my opinion. And I know I
know you're not what I'm saying is that the reason the reason why people say
that is because he's got up at ten and a half. That shot just
he stopped him at his tra access. All the is to it. If
Ryan could have continued, he would have. He's Ryan Man, forget it.
He's he's gotten more than combination at heart, you know, for for
ten people. So no, I'm just telling you right now, if he
could have gotten up, he would have fair point. Okay, go ahead,
I'm sorry, finish. No, I didn't. I don't want to
believe it. I just wanted to. I wanted to get the devil's advocate
and then tell you and get your impressions of what a lot of people think
it's because he got up at ten and a half that he probably could have
gotten up at ten. But I agree with you. I don't think he
could have continued. And he said as much after the fight. Well,
here's the thing. Getting up at ten and a half at having the REP
three stopping the fight is one thing. Um being down at nine and a
half and and trying to get up knowing that another attack is coming through is
also something that is a psychological thing as well. But let me just say
something. A second or two being down can make a big difference. It's
just like it's just like Tyson Purity when he went down from Wilder. I
mean that extra second, welcome up. I don't know, he was asleep
and then it was away at at nine, got up, you know.
So I'm I'm just saying Easton happened in a second. You can you can
feel debilitated one hundred percent, and then a second or two later you can
feel fifty percent debilitated. So it's it's one of those things. And I'm
just saying that a liver shot was, like you said, thank kids,
as hard as that he's got. You know, he's only had two fights
toil the distance out of one twenty nine. Okay, he knocks everybody out.
And when you said we did the barrios with that body shot, he's
a killer body pucker man. And you get hit right on, right on
the liberally heated and I'm surprised he I was gonna see him, wasn't.
So Yeah, you just made the point at least maintain his farm, you
know what I'm saying. Absolutely, you just made the point about the punching
power that think Davis has. I'm actually interested. Also, I know he's
talking about Ryan because he's your he was your guy for this fight. But
being across the ring and watching the way Taint Davis performed, Uh, I
wonder your your opinion about about his talent, his ability. He seems like
he's in that position in his career now where it's going to take something really
special to beat this guy. Yeah, I don't disagree with you at all.
Um, He's he's proven himself to be, you know, the number
one guy. I think at thirty five, without a doubt, he could
probably even move up to forty and probably just be just as dominant. Um.
You know what it is. He's Um, he's he's a winner.
Number one, he sent his blood to win. And then number two,
he's well schooled. He you know, calin Ford did a great job,
but he's been with him forever. He gotta I if my cap to him
because you know he had him prepared. And look, I mean m.
Leonard Ellerbe even said it, you know, he said, look, we
knew that Ryan Garcia was going to be a monster. He was going to
be in the greatest shape of his life, and we knew we had to
be So they went to the Maths. We went to the maths and paint
Davis, you know, prevailed um and for good reason. He's a great,
great fighter. I mean, he's probably pound for pound, one of
the best in the world. Right now, I would say he's definitely,
uh, you know, making his way towards that level. I don't know
if he's quite there yet, but certainly he's He's making some statements with his
recent performances. I agree. So now I'll wrap up in just a minute.
But I know, okay, so going forward, obviously you're not going
to be with Ryan at least you know, and then you know in the
near future. Anyway, you never know about every union. Who knows,
but yeah, you never know. I mean that's you know, things come
you know, full sirsal sometimes. But if it never did happen, it
was a great run. I wish him well and I know I'm gonna be
talking on him soon. And so I was, what do you what do
you think lunch together? I mean, it's it's that it's that way right
now. We're that cool right now. So since you know him pretty well
obviously, and you know the type of fighter he is, the work I
think he has, the you know what his mentality is in the ring.
How how hard you think it will be for him to redound from this type
of loss. But look, there's only one Tank Davis, uh you know
in the world right now. Um. Are there other fighters that are very
talented? Absolutely? Um, But I think Number one, Ryan's his artillery
works really well against right handers. Okay, that's kind of where his he's
he's at his best now. I know, we just fought two south Paus
back to back and for Tuna, he just totally, uh you know,
dismantled him piece by piece over you know, it's a different it's a different
horse than we had in the in the race the other night. Um.
That said, I just think Ryan's, um, his all of his counters
and leads and what have you all worked better against right handers. So I
think if he can avoid really really dynamic south pause and there aren't there are
not a lot of them out there, Tank me the best of the bunch.
But I think Number one stick to right handers. He just works against
them much better. Um. Number two, he's you know, sometimes the
great fighters take a loss and turn those into great advantages for themselves. That
makes them apply themselves even more, learn why things happened for you know,
negatively correct those and try to assimilate more information to make you a more experienced
and better fighter. In other words, Um, there's a lot to learn
in this game. It's like Lupi Akino once told me, the great lupiek
in a jury Middlewich Champions. He said he was he said, Joe,
by the time I really learned how to fight, that I really knew this
game, he said, it was time to retire. You know. So
there's a lot to learn. And Ryan is only by the way I think
people forget. Ryan Garcia is twenty four years old. Yes, yea a
very young and inexperienced fighter, generally very he's very young. And you know
the differ is in between twenty four, twenty six, twenty seven years old,
that man's strength really comes in. He's gonna be he's gonna be very,
very hard to deal with for just about anybody Else's the toughest fight on
the planet. He he lobbied for and he got it. And um,
it shows you his his um athletic um desires. He wants to be the
best, and he wants to fight the best to prove he's the best.
So I mean he he kind of willed this fight. That's exactly what I
wrote. I mean, he's the one that he battled with his own team
at Golden Boy to make the fight. He battled to get the deal done
with the Tank side. I mean I said to Ryan when an interview I
had with him, I said, this fight, if you know, Tank
had to take it. Obviously he's in the ring also, so you got
to give him credit for making the fight too. But someone's got to drive
the bus. And Ryan Garcia was driving the bus. Did he did?
He hoped he initially will the fight into existence exactly. So it sounds to
me like you think, uh, maybe stay away from lefties for a bit,
till you learn a little bit more about fighting them come back. He's
got the athletic abilities and the talent and the and the technique and all those
things are going to it. Uh. The one thing I wanted to ask
you, do you think from a mental point of view that he'll be able
to overcome this? Oh yeah, yeah, of course. I mean,
namey a fighter besides maybe Mayweather in the last fifty years that you know,
didn't lose a fight or get dropped. The greatest. Name your top five
favorite fighters and tell me if they've ever been a dropped or lost. You're
right, I mean most every single fighter does those. I mean I can
think of a couple of guys are retired undefeated. Joe Calzagie retired undefeated,
although he did get dropped. I mean, yeah, you're right. It's
to me losing is you know, if you if you're if the best fighters
fight the other best fighters, somebody is going to win the fight and somebody's
going to lose the fight. And that doesn't mean the guy that loses the
fight is not a good fighter. Also, no, exactly correct, and
that's what I'm saying. So you know, uh, I just think that
this is something that's actually going to drive him to greater heights in all actuality.
I think it's going to motivate him to make even more of a commitment,
if that's possible, because he's very uh he's very studious about his his
sport and um, he's you know, he is a Ryan is. He's
he's a thinker and you know he's he likes to dissect things and discuss him
He's smart about it. He's got he's got a good mind. For it.
So I I just think he knows he's got plenty left and he had
he had a tough fight with Tank, But you know what, I think
he could go on a winning streak and then just you know, reclaim a
lot of the territory he may have lost, and then you go on to
a championship, maybe even at one forty. SAME's he's really a welterweight in
waiting. Sure, he's so big, you know. So I have one
more question for you, and then, and I appreciate all the time we
have discussed this on There have been a lot of people that have made comments
about why much of his team, Oscar de la Joya, Bernard Hopkins,
and Joe Goosen were not present at the post by press conference. So you
don't have to speak for Oscar Dalaya or Bernard Hopkins, but I am curious
why Joe Goosen was not at the post by press conference. I personally found
it unusually, Dan, Dan, I will tell you something, There's not
any There was never one media event, not one training session, not one
visit to wherever we had to go for publicity interviews that I wasn't at.
I was at everything. Okay, now, flash forwards. It was a
very innocent the thing that happened after the fight, you know. Of course
Ryan was let out into the locker room quickly. You know, as I'm
getting out of the ring, you know, I see Alburn staying ringside,
Abner Marz, a bunch of other people, Cobe Covington. I thought it
was just like okay, before I even got ten steps out of the ring,
I was there for fifteen minutes right there room side talking okay, now
going up the aisle, Okay, you know what's going to happen walking up
the aisle, you know, And that was just me. So you know,
people are gonna want bub bub bub. You know, I'm talking to
a bunch of different people. By the time I got back to the locker
room, it was probably I'm figuring twenty to thirty minutes later, okay,
at least twenty at least twenty, maybe thirty. So I get in the
locker room and it's just packed packed back back backed. Yeah, you're get
your guy. Connor McGregor was there, I think I see. I didn't
even see him, you know, it was so packed. Okay, So
I made my way over to Ryan and he was getting dressed. It looked
like he was putting on a outfit for you know, going out later or
whatever. Well, coming out to the press conference first, well okay,
well okay, but I never heard about a press conference. Now, regardless
of that, Um, I was in the locker room act I said something
to Ryan he was getting addressed, and I said them to a few other
people that were in there, and you know, kind of shared how I
was bummed out with them. And then I stepped out into the hallway.
There's two exits out of the out of the locker room, front and back,
and you're still in the hallway. And now I started talking to other
people. I I literally so I swear to you on every I thought Ryan
was getting ready to leave and go to um um back to the hotel.
So now and I hear what you're saying, Joe, I have to ask,
Well, you asked me, let me finish. Okay, all right,
let me finish. So now I'm in the hallway, and of course
it's attacked out there, and I'm talking to people blah blah blah. You
know, they're probably fifteen twenty minutes. I go back to like everybody's gone.
I what the hell I started going down the hallway, ran into some
security guards, and eventually you know, and I talked to maybe fifteen twenty
minutes out in the hall and I said where, I said, have you
seen the Garcia? And they said, oh, they just left. So
they just left. I said, damn, I'm going How am I going
to get out of here now? Because I was the last one in the
building. So the whole time they were at this press conference, which I
found out later on, I had no idea. Now people go, well,
wait a minute, aren't there always press conference? I say that press
cover. No, no, Dan, I don't want to be interrupted.
I got a train a thought, go on. Of course there are and
sometimes there aren't, okay, now that being said, Um, then I
came to find out, oh, yeah, they were just in the arena.
They had a press conference in the ring at the arena. In the
ring. I've never accred. So not only did was I not notified?
Not only did anybody? Now nobody texted me and said, hey, we're
in the arena having a press conference. Where are you. I would have
said, well, I'm right in the hallway here. I had no what
do you think I would have hit out from them because I know that.
I'm just saying so no. I was in the building not knowing where they
were until they left. And then I found out they had left. And
I don't even know when I found out they had the press car may have
been later on, so oh, I mean the press conference out of the
building. There was tons of people out in front. I had to get
escorted across parking lot to the MGM park where they said go through the front
and out the back turn of the left. He go, because I said,
how did I get back to the MGM? I had a walk,
I hadn't walk, so then of course I make the wrong turn. I
go a mile. I'm walking the street, serve back. It was really
a comedy show. I ended up at the Rio Hotel. One of the
front says, hey, where's the MGM. He goes, well, this
is what I said. Can I walk into this? He goes, no,
you gotta take a cap now. I get in the cab line.
That took like a half and it was just a nightmare. And then I
get back where were you with? I go, why didn't somebody text me
and just say, hey, Joe, we're in the arena. There's a
press conference going on. I was in the building, so this is exactly
what happened. It was a lack of communication. I couldn't even if I
was looking for a press conference. I got to look at it in the
ring. And that's that. That's as much as I'm gonna say. Because
I've never missed anything with my fighter, especially if they lose, I want
to be there for them, and that was unfortunate that I wasn't. I
literally thought, literally thought Ryan was just going to pack up and leave and
go to wherever he was going. Okay, so that's a that's a that's
a long story, but the bottom line was you said it's these stores.
You know what I'm saying. But it was miscommunication. You didn't realize where
it was and that it was taking place then, even though you're in the
building, and that was it. In other words, it was not a
matter of their sour grapes from either side because of what occurred in the ring.
Is the point, not even close bummed out. I mean, dude,
to listen, you ask any fighter that I've ever worked with, I'm
by their side when they lose, especially when they win. I turned them
over to their friends and family, and they go party, have a great
time. When they lose, I know, that's when they need more attention.
Okay, and believe you me, Ryan was getting a lot of attention.
Like I said, Connor McGregor was there. I couldn't even see Connor
McGregor in that locker room was so packed, I mean wall to wall,
and nobody stopped. Then go, hey, I want to make a big
announcement. We've got a press conference. But nothing, None of that happened.
Nobody pulled me aside, said anything. Nobody texted me while the press
conference was going on, Hey where are you Joe? I wish I knew
I would have texted you myself. I know, I'm telling you. I
was in the building. I was the last person out and I ended up
walking what I thought was back to the MGM. It took me another hour
and a half. Basically, Yep, it was. It was like I
said it was. It was. It was a horrible, horrible, uh
circumstance that at the end of the day when I found out that was really
bummed out. And I explained that to the closest people concerned with Ryan.
And that's that. I mean, if you rather believe me or you don't.
But that's the damn bottom line. And ask any of my fighters whether
I would abandoned them after they lost a fight. I totally believe you.
As long as I have known you, I do believe you. I just
was asking because there were people that were curious and like, hey, that
was sort of you know, surprising. And it wasn't just because you weren't.
There was also because of his two of his promoters. But you've addressed
it, and I appreciate it, and I appreciate you talk. Like I
said, Danny, I mean, if if if somebody's really interested in the
story there it is. I mean, I I can't you know, I
can understand why people might have gone, hey, let's say, you know,
but that and then had nothing to do with with anything else that was
you know, like I said, any extension of what right, what Ryan?
Because Ryan knows how how much I really, you know, I'm concerned
for him and care for him, so you know, he knows that I
that's not my opinion, my personality. He knows I'm always there. I'm
always there, and so uh, bottom line said guy, I'm bummed out
that that happened. I'm bummed out that I wasn't there, and um if
I wouldn't know, I would have been there period. Fair enough, Joe,
thank you very much for doing this deep dive into everything around the fight.
It was such a big deal, such a big event, that it
needed a little bit of post fight autopsy, so to speak, so I
appreciate it. No, no, listen, Danny here here here. You
know, I've known you for a long time. And the reason I don't
mind sharing this with you because number one, I know you're accurate, okay,
and you're fair, and that's all anybody expects when you, you know,
relay personal information public personal um uh to to the public. And I
you know, like I said, I trust in your professionalism and I've known
you for years, and that's good enough reason for me to share this with
you, and and quite frankly, anybody else who's interested. Well, all
I can say this is Joe, thank you very much, and i'd say,
next stop, Canistoda, New York for the Hall of Fame induction,
well deserved, congratulations on that, and enjoy your trip to the Law of
Well, let's let's hope, Danny, because I understand it's it's it's it's
kind of a a very securitist route to get to Canastota, and let's just
hope I can find my way there. It is more, it is more
difficult to find Canastota from southern California than it is to find the MGM from
the Team Obile arena. So good book everybody again and then uh yeah,
well we'll be speaking some and I appreciate uh uh the new in the interview
with you early, do you bet? There you go, everybody that is
Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goose, and thank you Joe. You got it. Danny