Canelo Alvarez is backing lifetime trainer and confidant Eddy Reynoso after touted phenom Ryan Garcia recently announced his split from the heralded coach.
Garcia formed an alliance with Joe Goossen, and he recently said he made the switch because Reynoso didn’t didn’t have time to work with him 100%. Garcia’s father and co-coach Henry Garcia added that his son wanted independence, his own gym, and to build a better brand.
The undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez is alluding to other reasons why Garcia is no longer a part of the San Diego stable.
“I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He says he wants more time, right? Eddy has all the time for him,” Alvarez told Elie Seckbach of ESNews on Monday. “Eddy was here Christmas (2020), New Year (2021), everything for him when he fought with Luke Campbell (on Jan. 2, 2021). Then, what happened – something with him, I’m not sure.”
Alvarez was ringside to watch Garcia’s knockout win over Campbell and celebrated with the up-and-coming star after the fight. The duo had a big brother, little brother-like relationship at the time, they both admitted.
After the Campbell bout, Garcia pulled out of an announced fight with Javier Fortuna in April citing mental health issues. He later had right-hand surgery in October.
Alvarez continued defending Reynoso and alluded to commitment issues surrounding Garcia, and even threw a shot at fellow stablemate and former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz.
“Eddy has time for all the fighters, you ask everybody. If you have the time to put in the gym and train really good with discipline, Eddy is always going to be there,” said Alvarez. “I’ve been with Eddy for a lot of years. I saw when a lot of good fighters come to the gym, really good fighters and (Reynoso) is here all the time. If you come … and train for only 20 minutes, then you don’t come four days, three days, OK. Then the next day, you say ‘I come in at 12’ and then come at two? So, you need to be disciplined. You can ask everybody, Oscar Valdez, Frank Sanchez. I don’t know what happened with Andy Ruiz, it’s the same. He came one day, and then he don’t come.”
Alvarez’s latest comments regarding Garcia are reaffirming remarks he made toward him in November, when he surprisingly admitted Garcia was wasting time, talent, he was not 100% dedicated, and that it was a bad sign for his career.
Garcia seemingly had enough and offered his side of the story on Twitter after Alvarez’s interview aired.
“Canelo doesn’t know the facts,” Garcia wrote. “The first camp I had with Eddy (in 2018) went great. Then everything went bad. He only showed up two weeks before the (Francisco) Fonseca fight (in February 2020) and that’s when I first asked my manager to talk to him about finding a new trainer. Vergil Ortiz left because Eddy never showed.
“Frank Sanchez had a fight where Eddy only showed up the day of the fight. So ask Canelo to explain that! Let’s stop the back and forth and focus on the fights at hand. By the way, I got nothing but respect for Eddy. It’s just the truth.
“The truth also is that’s not even the main reason I left (and decided) to part ways. Canelo knows why I’m just going to keep it to myself and focus on the fight I have.
“If you think Joe Goosen takes it easy in training you must not know who Joe is.
“I’m on a mission, the truth is in the fights everything else is static noise.”
Garcia scored five wins – all of them via knockout – while training with Reynoso for nearly 3 ½ years.
Garcia will next fight Emmanuel Tagoe in a lightweight bout on April 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio on DAZN.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.