Ryan Garcia slammed his former Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goossen for joining rival Mario Barrios ahead of their WBC welterweight title fight scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
During the introductory press conference, the 27-year-old American professional boxer used the “alleged betrayal” scenario and called his former trainer a “traitor.”
The social media influencer, accompanied by his trainer father Henry, threw a shirt with the word “traitor” printed on the back towards his former trainer.
When asked if he was truly heartbroken over Goossen’s coaching of Barrios, Garcia shared a smirk without saying anything.
In an interview with CBS Newsthe boxer declared: “I’m going to rip this guy’s head off and I’m going to beat him badly in front of Goossen.”
He added that this motivates him to “whipping his opponent’s ass more just to show that I don’t care who trains him.”
For those who don’t know him, Goossen, 72, worked with Garcia as head trainer for three consecutive fights, before parting ways in 2023.
Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) and Goossen parted on good terms; However, industry rumors suggest that the former WBC interim lightweight titleholder never really bought into Goossen’s teaching.
Garcia is scheduled to face Barrios for a headlining pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday at 7:55 p.m. ET.
