Mario Barrios recruits Joe Goossen and touts VADA testing for Ryan Garcia fight
Dec 7, 2025 • 1:15 AM ET
Esther Lin / Premier Boxing ChampionsMario Barrios, who attended the Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz-Lamont Roach Jnr card in San Antonio on Saturday, announced on the Prime Video broadcast that he has changed trainers.
Barrios, who will defend his welterweight title against popular contender Ryan Garcia on February 21, said he left trainer Bob Santos for Hall of Fame cornerman Joe Goossen, who formerly trained Garcia.
“Knowing what he brings as a trainer, we can do big things,” Barrios said of Goossen, who has been in training with Barrios for two weeks.
Said Goossen, “We’re working on perfection right now”, with sparring to start in a couple weeks.
Barrios, who is coming off consecutive draws against Abel Ramos and Manny Pacquiao, says the “intangibles” make a defense against Garcia an intriguing event. The Las Vegas bout will be Garcia’s third world title shot, after the first two were unsuccessful.
Additionally, after Garcia’s positive tests for the banned PED ostarine – which ultimately led to a no-contest after he knocked down three-division champion Devin Haney three times last year – Barrios said there will be Voluntary Anti Doping Association (VADA) testing for their bout.
“Ryan will follow through in the right way,” Barrios said. I don’t think there’ll be anything to worry about.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
