Renowned boxing trainer fawns over Jorge Masvidal: ‘He’s something else’

There’s recently been a lot of talk about mixed martial artists transitioning to boxing, and vice versa. One of the names that comes up most often in these conversations is UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal.

While most fans agree that even the best MMA fighters would be in over their heads in boxing matches with the world’s best boxers, boxing trainer Joe Goossen—the man behind champs like Gabe and Rafael Ruelas—is very impressed by Masvidal’s boxing ability.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Goossen assessed the boxing skills of UFC stars like Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic and Masvidal. Nobody got him quite as excited as the latter.

“Look at those combinations — the right hand, then he went to the liver, that’s nice. He kicked… and then got his distance. Masvidal is putting those (punches) as good as you can when you’re that close on the ground and then chokes the guy out,” Goossen said as he watched Masvidal’s 2013 fight with Michael Chiesa. “What I liked was that he has a very good sense of flow with his combinations.”

After reviewing footage of a few other Masvidal fights, Goossen unpacked the fighter’s 2015 win over Cezar Ferreira, and praised the mixed martial artists for his seamless transitions from orthodox to southpaw.

“He came into the right-handed stance, into a left-handed stance, at the very end,” he said.

Goossen continued to fawn while watching footage of Masvidal decimating Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

“Does this guy do this to everybody? He’s something else, let me tell you. He keeps his hands up real well, very athletic, great body attack, he knows what he’s doing,” the trainer said. “He must be working with somebody in the boxing field.”

Goossen concluded by watching Jorge Masvidal beat the brakes off Darren Till in London in 2019. Suffice it to say he appreciated the UFC star’s handiwork.

“See that left hand, right off the that right hand? [Masvidal] waves him in, and then he goes southpaw,” he said of Masvidal. “Man, I tell you, this guy is dangerous, right handed or left handed, he’s on top of you. I want to get a good look at him, because if I ever run into him at a bar, I’ll be nothing but polite.

“I would’ve loved to have had an aggressive ass-kicker like that in my stable as a fighter, because he looks like he can do anything: spinning kicks, flying kicks, elbows, you name it, southpaw, right handed, combinations, accurate and a vicious punch,” says Goossen. “This guy’s got it all.”

How do you think Jorge Masvidal would perform in the boxing ring?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/11/2020.