By Sam Volz: Joe Goosen says his fighter Ryan Garcia possesses a higher ring IQ than Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, and he believes that’s going to play a factor in his victory over the Baltimore native on Saturday night on DAZN/Showtime PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
If the only thing that separates these two evenly-matched fighters is intelligence, Ryan should come out ahead in Goosen’s view. That’s assuming that his defensive liabilities and his fragile chin don’t betray him against the more professionally polished Gervonta.
It’s one thing being more intelligent, but if you’ve failed to fix the critical flaws in your game, you won’t last long against an elite-level fighter like Tank Davios.
Goosen says Ryan (23-0, 19 KOs) is within three pounds of the 136-lb catchweight, and he expects him to shed that weight without too much trouble before Friday.
On Tuesday, Ryan looked a little drained at the grand arrivals, and you could tell it’s been easy for him to dehydrate himself.
“I’m supremely confident of my fighter Ryan Garcia. He looks great; he’s on weight. We’ve kept his weight in the low 40s, and late 30s for the past month. He’s used to that weight right now. We’ve got three lbs to hit 36, and we’re right there,” said trainer Joe Goosen to Fight Hub TV.
“That’s always the question. Both of these guys are knockout punchers. I don’t ever forget the abilities of Tank Davis. That’s why we train 120%. We’re aware of his abilities and he’s aware of ours. Ryan is very fast. They know that. Ryan is very strong. They know that. I’m very confident of my man to take care of business on Saturday night.
“They’re both high IQ guys. I think my guy is a few points higher [than Tank].
“He’s speaking clearly. He’s bright-eyed, and I can’t wait until Saturday. Sometimes you dread a fight. You think, ‘My fighter is in deep, deep trouble,’ but not with Ryan. I’m so confident in him right now because he’s confident, and that rubs off on you.
“Ryan is such a technical thinker, and he’s so confident in his abilities that he never has a negative thought. If you bring any negativity to the camp, your gone.
“He wants to hear the truth, but he’s going to look you in the eye, and he’s going to know if you’re BS him or not. In the long run, he knows what I’m telling him to be his truth anyway,” said Goosen.
