RYAN GARCIA SLAMS "TRAITOR" JOE GOOSSEN AHEAD OF WBC TITLE FIGHT WITH BARRIOS
Ryan Garcia confronts former trainer Joe Goossen at a heated press conference as he prepares to challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC title.
Ryan Garcia says he’s locked in—no distractions, totally focused—for his big world title fight against Mario Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) on February 21 at the T-Mobile Arena. This is for the WBC welterweight championship, and you can feel the tension building.
“This is going to be a bloody fight—a lot of cuts,” Garcia promised at the press conference on Thursday. With their styles, you just know this could turn into a real war. Joe Goossen, who’s worked with Ryan on and off for years, knows exactly what Garcia brings to the table.
Goossen has been in Garcia’s corner since his amateur days and coached him through three big pro fights—against Emmanuel Tagoe, Javier Fortuna, and Gervonta Davis.
But things got messy. At the presser, Ryan didn’t hold back—he said he felt betrayed and heartbroken that Goossen would train someone to fight against him. When a trainer knows all your strengths and weaknesses, it can give your opponent a real edge. Bringing Goossen onto Mario’s team feels like a calculated move.
Goossen, on the other hand, tried to brush off the drama. “It had nothing to do with Ryan,” he said. “We were planning to work with Joe regardless of this fight. My team just needed a change for this last stretch of my career.”
Now, Mario and Goossen have cooked up a smart game plan. When reporters asked how Barrios planned to handle Ryan’s dangerous left hook, he kept it simple. “Distance is key. Timing. Using my physical attributes and boxing skills.”
Garcia’s done his homework on Barrios, too. He knows Barrios is tough as nails—a guy who doesn’t fade late. “We know Mario is durable. He’ll keep fighting hard in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth rounds, even if he gets hurt. We’ve watched a lot of his fights.”
Barrios has been through the fire before. He went to war with Keith Thurman and Gervonta Davis, took some punishment, but never quit. His last fight? A razor-close draw with Manny Pacquiao—honestly, that one could have gone either way.
Ryan knows he can’t mess this up. He’s had chances slip away before because he wasn’t ready or lost focus. He can’t let that happen again—not after the loss to Davis. No room for back-to-back defeats.
He’s got the talent to be at the top. It all comes down to whether he shows up and delivers. He says he will. Team Barrios is training for the best version of Ryan Garcia, and Ryan needs to bring it if he wants to grab his first world title.
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
