Anthony Joshua has chosen veteran U.S coach Robert Garcia to train him for his rematch with IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on July 23rd.
ESPN is reporting the news of Robert Garcia taking over as the coach for the struggling 32-year-old Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) for this critical rematch against Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
Garcia, 47, will be replacing Joshua’s longtime coach Rob McCracken for this fight. After two defeats in Joshua’s last four fights, it was apparent that he needed to do something to right his sinking ship, so Robert is the new captain that will be taking over for AJ’s second voyage against Usyk.
Robert has a long list of well-known fighters that he’s trained over the years, but it remains to be seen if he can turn Joshua’s career around.
It’s a given that Garcia will have Joshua use natural size, speed & power advantage in the rematch with the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk on July 23rd.
Robert will surely have Joshua roughing up the smaller fighter Usyk in hopes that it’ll enable him to intimidate him, making him wary of using his technical boxing skills to put in another clinic like we saw last September.
“Robert Garcia will train Anthony Joshua in England for the heavyweight title rematch vs. Oleksandr Usyk on July 23 in Saudi Arabia, sources tell ESPN. Garcia, an ex-champ and trainer of the year, is revered for his game plans. AJ was trained by Rob McCracken since his pro debut,” said Mike Coppinger.
“My style against Usyk, it did better at the time,” said Joe Joyce to Secondsout about his performance against Usyk being better than Joshua’s. “Even though I didn’t get the victory, I was landing shots.
“If it was a professional fight in 12 rounds, me hitting him over 12 rounds like that, he wouldn’t have lasted,” Joyce continued. “It’s down to Joshua to do the same.
“He’s [Joshua] got quicker punches and their heavier, more powerful punches [than Usyk’s], but there’s the worry about his gas tank to last the whole 12 rounds at that pace.
“His chin will come into question as well, so there’s obviously that. He doesn’t want to get knocked out by Usyk because that would be a double embarrassment.
“He’s a lighter fighter coming up from cruiserweight as well, and also there’s a lot of pressure on him [Joshua] and how he deals with that. I think his head is kind of gone,” said Joyce about his belief that Joshua is mentally gone since his loss to Usyk last September.
