Anthony Joshua’s trainer Robert Garcia casts doubt over whether he will continue to work with the Brit… as he backs the two-time heavyweight champion to make a successful return ‘with or WITHOUT me’ following his rematch defeat to Oleksandr Usyk
- Robert Garcia trained Anthony Joshua for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk
- Joshua was beaten on points by the Ukrainian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Garcia has appeared to criticise Joshua since his rematch loss to Usyk
- Garcia has now suggested he is unsure if he will continue to work with Joshua
- The 47-year-old trainer thinks Joshua will ‘come back stronger’ when he returns
Anthony Joshua’s trainer Robert Garcia has backed the Brit to bounce back from his rematch loss against Oleksandr Usyk, but has hinted that he is unsure whether he will continue to work with the two-time heavyweight champion.
Joshua looked to gain revenge against Usyk earlier this month after losing their first fight last September. With Garcia in his corner, Joshua pushed Usyk for the majority of the bout, but he was beaten on points by the Ukrainian.
The 32-year-old has now lost three of his last five fights, but Garcia believes he can still be a force in the heavyweight division.
Robert Garcia trained Anthony Joshua for the first time for the Oleksandr Usyk rematch
Joshua came up short in his quest to become a three-time heavyweight champion against Usyk
‘Can Anthony come back? Hell yeah, he’s gonna come back. With or without me, he’s gonna come back and he’s gonna come back stronger,’ Garcia told Es News.
Garcia’s comments suggest that he could be dropped by Joshua when the Olympic gold medallist returns to the ring, and this would not be a complete surprise given what Garcia has been quoted as saying since the Usyk defeat.
The 47-year-old trainer reportedly claimed that Joshua was ‘mentally defeated’ in the 10th round against Usyk, who moved clear on the scorecards in the final stages of the fight.
He also appeared to air his frustrations that Joshua did not look to put Usyk under more pressure earlier in the fight.
‘In round nine we put pressure on Usyk, and almost closed the fight when he started to punch Usyk’s body more emphatically and began to press him more. If he had done that two or three rounds before, maybe the result would be different,’ he said, as quoted by Boxing Scene.
Garcia appeared to criticise Joshua after his defeat against Usyk earlier this month
Garcia is now unsure as to whether he will continue to train Joshua moving forward
‘He was using his punches to keep Usyk at distance, his jab, his reach. But I would have liked him to throw his jab with more power. Sometimes he was just using his jab to keep Usyk at distance. But there were many opportunities where the jab could have been more solid, but it wasn’t that way.
‘The last three rounds changed the fight’s outcome. I think we were doing well, until round ten, when everything changed in the fight. The last three rounds defined the fight, but in round nine, we were close to winning by knockout.’
Garcia has now responded to accusations that he was being disrespectful to Joshua in the aftermath of the fight, stating that translation issues have made his words sound harsher than they actually were.
‘From Spanish translated to English, they make it seem like I was talking s***. I’d never say that about my fighters,’ he added.
Joshua has previously said that he wants to fight again before the end of the year, but it is unclear as to whether he will stick with Garcia or opt for a fresh voice in his corner.
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