By Jeff Aronow: Trainer Joe Goosen is in awe of the punching power of lightweight contender Ryan Garcia since he took over as his new coach recently.
Goosen says the 23-year-old Ryan’s power is similar to the late former two-division world champion Diego Corrales, who used to train with him.
Corrales (40-5, 33 KOs) was known for his exciting fights in the early 2000s against Jose Luis Castillo, Joel Casamayor, and Acelino Freitas. For Goosen to be comparing Ryan’s power to Corrales’ is a huge compliment.
Where Ryan doesn’t match up to Corrales is with his right-hand power. Corrales had an excellent right hand and a far better inside fighter than Ryan has shown to be during his short career.
Corrales was a much busier fighter than Ryan when he was in his early 20s. Instead of fighting once a year like Ryan, Corrales would fight three to four times a year, mixing it with the best. You didn’t see him fighting obscure opposition once he hit his early 20s.
Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) is fighting next month against little-known Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) in a headliner on DAZN on April 9th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
This is the first fight for Ryan in fifteen months since his victory over Luke Campbell in January 2021.
“I also had a great lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas [53-4, 41 KOs], and Corrales, who had a 90% knockout ratio,” said Joe Goosen to K.O Artist Sports. “Ryan is a one-punch knockout [artist]; he can put you unconscious.
“Diego could do that as well and Rafael every so often, but usually Rafael got you through attrition. He would hit you with so many punches, and he had power, don’t get me wrong,” said Goosen.
Corrales was arguably a lot more rugged than Ryan Garcia has shown. Look at the shots that Corrales took in his fights against elite fighters like Freitas, Castillo, and Casamayor. It’s challenging to imagine Ryan being able to take those same punches repeatedly.
We saw Luke Campbell fold Ryan like a deck of cards with a simple left hand. That punch wouldn’t have budged Corrales because he could take much harder shots from A-level fighters. Campbell was not an elite-level guy.
“He had a great liver shot; he stopped so many guys with liver shots like Ryan did with [Luke] Campbell,” said Goosen.
“Corrales, he could stun you with one punch, as we saw, even late in a fight when he was hurt. But most of the time, Diego was chasing people around the ring, trying to get them to stop running from him.
“So it was a little more difficult for him to finally get to you, but once he got to you and hit you with that left hook, that left hook was just like Ryan’s.
“It was devastating, devastating. You don’t get hit with that and then go, ‘I feel good.’ You get hit with that, and you don’t know what time it is,” said Goosen.
Corrales’ first fight with Castillo was one for the ages, with both guys getting hurt but continuing to throw bombs.
“But Ryan can actually lay you unconscious with one punch,” said Goosen. “We’ve seen him do it; he’s that good, he’s that powerful. So don’t let matinee idol look fool you.
“Inside, he’s really an astonishing brutal puncher and athletic beyond measure. He’s got it all. I love training him, I love being here, and the time went by quickly.
“We’re on our way to Texas pretty soon, and I can’t wait to see him perform,” said Goosen about his first fight as Ryan Garcia’s new coach coming up on April 9th.
