Last September in London (England), local unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) lost by decision to mandatory challenger Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), after which he activated the revenge clause prescribed in the contract. The second fight will take place on August 20 in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
On the eve of the revenge, the Briton made the difficult decision to refuse the services of mentor Rob McCracken, with whom he worked for about 10 years, starting a joint journey in amateur competitions.
Joshua chose a new coach for a long time, he settled on the candidacy of the American Robert Garcia. I considered the option of cooperation with the most successful mentor of recent years, Mexican Eddie Reynoso, known for his work with compatriot superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez.
Experts assumed that the final decision was made taking into account the fact that Reynoso does not speak English.
Joshua confessedthat the reason for the decision was not this: “I needed the new mentor to give me as much time as possible. But Eddie could only offer me training side by side with Canelo in his gym. This was one of the main reasons why I eventually abandoned this option. I needed the coach to give me as much time as possible, so that he could work with me personally, without outsiders.
“Reynoso did not manage to fly to Britain. So we continued our search and found someone who would be equally competent and able to work with me here in Britain, along with Angel Fernandez, ”explained Joshua.
The fact that “Reynoso only has time for Canelo” has been talked about for a long time. He has lost many fighters lately: Ryan Garcia, Frank Sanchez, Andy Ruiz, Luis Neri, Julio Cesar Martinez.
Another well-known coach from the United States said that on the eve of a rematch with Usyk, he would “choose Joshua again.” But the British ex-champion told what was wrong with Anthony’s new tactics.
Meanwhile, Usyk showed form two weeks before the fight, and then played unusual tennis in preparation for a rematch with Joshua. Yesterday, the Ukrainian on the ball showed his fist.
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