Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia evidently is ready to throw down even though his comeback fight against Emmanuel Tagoe is still more than a week away in San Antonio.
Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) hasn’t fought since he got up from a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in seven rounds in January of last year. The 23-year-old social media sensation took time off to tend to his mental health and change trainers. He now works with Joe Goossen.
The Garcia-Tagoe fight will be streamed on DAZN.
“Now I’m at the point where I’m going to do amazing when I get into the ring,” he said during a workout for the media Tuesday in San Diego. “I’ve done all the promotion I can. I’m going to be the best I can be. You have to trust that gut feeling which most guys don’t.
“I knew Joe Goossen was going to be a perfect fit for me. He’s old school, and I love that part of the game. He’s someone I can relate to. We have good chemistry.”
Goossen feels the same way.
“I knew he had something special,” the veteran trainer said. “We got along and there was something about him that appealed to me personality-wise and fighting-wise. He’s really attacking this like he’s obsessed and possessed.
“I’m genuinely impressed.”
Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs) is a solid opponent. The 33-year-old Ghanaian has fought primarily in his native country but he has beaten some notable opponents there, including Mzonke Fana and Moses Paulus
And he’s coming off a majority-decision victory over Mason Menard in October 2020. That means he will have been out of the ring for a longer period than Garcia.
Garcia said he’s prepared for anything Tagoe might throw at him.
“Fighters always try to pressure me,” he said. “We’ll see since I don’t know too much about this guy. I’ll just stay calm and surgically break him down or knock him out. I have pretty good timing and accuracy. I think that has really separated myself from other fighters.
“My power has been coming out more effortlessly. I’m also not getting as tired. Everything’s coming together.”
