IF THE Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia fight week proved the peak of a lengthy period of hype, the well-groomed figure of Joe Goossen consistently flanked Garcia like he was immune to the near-hysteria that was enveloping so many of his colleagues.
It was close to inevitable that the then-24-year-old Garcia would react to Davis’ menace, but where Leonard Ellerbe and those around the fighter they referred to as ‘Tank’ attempted transparent mind games built on suggestions of “spies” in Goossen’s gym and bragged of being the “A-side” of the promotion as though the battle was already close to won, Goossen, wearing his wealth of experience, remained entirely unmoved.
More than any other, he appeared to recognise at all times the certainties that a competitive match-up existed to create a winner and a loser, that the winner would soon need to prove himself again, that the loser could be rebuilt, that a week later Las Vegas would barely show a trace of what had unfolded, and ultimately that life would go on.
One of 10 children born to a homicide detective committed to fighting the crimes of the Los Angeles mafia, Goossen’s grounding was vastly different to not only many of those whose paths he had already repeatedly crossed, but those whose profiles owe to their association with Floyd Mayweather – an individual not only often short on substance but who perhaps more than any other fighter defines the era of hype.
When Goossen was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June, he
