By: Sean Crose
Ryan Garcia may have been knocked out by Gervonta Davis last month, but he’s back in the news with a new coach to help guide his career path. Of course, a coach is different from a promoter or manager. The trainers only prepare the boxer for the fights inside the ring – but, as some have pointed out, if Garcia doesn’t develop as a boxer, he will soon hit the ceiling and fail to respond. High expectations were set for him. A loss to Davis is nothing to be ashamed of, but Garcia can’t lose another one any time soon if he wants to be seen as a serious commodity.
Enter Derek James, collectively. In addition to Errol Spence, James of Texas also coaches Jermel Charlo and Anthony Joshua. Quite a squad. And now he can add Garcia to his list. “It’s time to come back,” Garcia posted on social media on Thursday along with photos of himself, James and Spence. The most famous and difficult young boxer was recently paired with famous trainer Joe Goosen. Before Goosen, Garcia used to train with famous coach Canelo Alvarez, Eddie Reynoso. Now that Garcia has lost money on his resume, he’s clearly hoping to find greener pastures with James.
With a 40-pound weight class in her sights, Garcia will clearly want to be in top form, as the junior welterweight class has names like Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor. Before their April superfight, Davis pointed out that Garcia had a left hook and not much else. While other boxers have been accused of only having concussion powers – think Deontay Wilder and Gerry Cooney – Davis has clearly found a way to avoid being punished by Garcia in the ring. No doubt James will be working on adding tools to Garcia’s toolbox.
“I am looking for greatness,” GAME quote Garcia. “I am looking to improve. I’m looking to be a champion with Derrick James. I feel he can guide and mentor me.” Whether James can do what Goosen and Reynoso can’t – satisfy Garcia while improving his game – remains to be seen. For the coaches, however, there’s no doubt, James; along with several others, sitting on the Olympus of boxing. In some quarters, it was said that Garcia did not see the boxer/coach relationship as a teacher-student relationship. If James insists on such a relationship and Garcia agrees, the pairing could indeed prove to be a good one.
