However, none has been more prevalent than Joe Goossen training Barrios after he was previously Garcia's trainer.

Goossen trained Garcia for three fights, which has been one of the key talking points the build-up to "The Ring: High Stakes", where the pair will compete for Barrios’ WBC welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on DAZN. Goossen has known Garcia since he was a kid, and together, they went 2-1, with their final fight together being Garcia’s seventh-round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis in 2023.

That experience is more than most trainers normally have against their fighters’ opponents, but Goossen insists his time with Garcia wasn’t a big factor in preparing Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs).

“Maybe a little bit, but not much,“ Goossen told The Ring. “You can watch Ryan fight. You can break down what you're looking at. You can say, ‘That was good, but why wasn't he doing that? How did Rolly get to him like that with that hook?’ All of that stuff is self-evident when you watch it, whether you trained them or not.

“I would give a little credence to the fact that I was intimately involved in his training for three fights and was there to observe everything that I did observe, but did I really need that to know? I've gone up against many fighters that I never worked with.

“You’ve got two eyes, and you know what you're looking at. You break down a little film. You watch their fights, you see their tendencies, you see their weaknesses and strengths. It's not brain surgery. Then you apply that knowledge to your game plan and institute things that you need to do defensively and offensively to whomever you're fighting.”

It isn’t the first time Goossen has gone from training one fighter to coaching against them. He was Joel Casamayor’s coach when he stopped Diego Corrales after six rounds in 2003. Five months later, he was in Corrales’ corner when he won a split decision over Casamayor.

At the press conference to formally announce the fight in January, Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) said he was hurt by Goossen’s decision and held up a shirt which read “I’m a traitor”, before tossing it to his former trainer.

“How could you, Joe?“ Garcia said to Goossen. “That’s messed up. I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. That’s insane. You broke my heart.”

Garcia, 27, has gone 1-1 and has one no contest since leaving Goosen and is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to WBA welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero on May 2. He was trained by Derrick James for those three fights.

For this fight, the Victorville, California, native has his father, Henry Garcia, as his chief second. The father-son duo worked together as Ryan rose through the ranks as a prospect before he joined forces with Eddy Reynoso in 2018.

“I’m honored,“ Henry said at the press conference in January. “I feel proud. I know my son more than anyone in this room, including the past coaches, which I do respect. I have to because they go through sacrifices, but I know my son, and come February 21st, he’s going to be the Ryan that I know and love.”

After fighting to consecutive draws in his first two title defenses, Barrios added Goossen as lead trainer, and the two began working together in December. Barrios, 30, was previously coached by Bob Santos, who remains a part of his team and will be in the San Antonio native’s corner when he faces Garcia.

Goossen had been familiar with Barrios from his time working on the Premier Boxing Champions broadcast, including for his last fight, a majority draw against Manny Pacquiao on July 19. Now, after nearly three months of working together, Goossen believes a different version of Barrios will show up than the one who fought too passively against the Filipino legend.

“When you have the conditioning of the rounds that we do, then you don't hold back thinking you might not have enough in the gas tank,” Goossen said. “There's plenty in the gas tank, and the defense is much tighter, which will enable him to feel comfortable letting his hands go more. Then, by virtue of the rounds that we sparred, and all the other things that went along with this camp, I think Mario is much more confident in engaging much more than maybe in the past.”