SAN DIEGO — Ryan Garcia hears the skeptics. How could he leave Eddy Reynoso? It was Reynoso, the reigning Trainer of the Year, who guided Garcia to five straight knockout wins after taking over his corner in 2018. In February, Garcia split with Reynoso, linking up with veteran trainer Joe Goossen. And what about Canelo Álvarez? It was a little more than a year ago that Álvarez, boxing’s pound-for-pound king, was in the ring celebrating Garcia’s win over Luke Campbell. Nowadays Álvarez is delivering biting criticisms of Garcia—when he’s talking about him at all.
“I’ve had to deal with a lot of drama in my short career,” Garcia says. “But I think everything works out for the better.”
It’s early March and Garcia is sitting on a ring apron in a nondescript, one-room gym in San Diego. An ice bag is wrapped around his left elbow. “Don’t read anything into that,” Goossen says. “He’s like a pitcher. You have to take care of that arm with the way he uses it.” On April 9, Garcia will end a 15-month layoff when he takes on Emmanuel Tagoe at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It will be Garcia’s first fight since his win over Campbell. That win answered many questions about Garcia. Yet as he prepares to return, he faces many more.
