Former unified world champion British heavyweight Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) managed to surprise – he claims that it was not at all his idea to invite American coach Robert Garcia on the eve of a rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.
In the second fight, the Briton looked good, was close to regaining the previously lost WBA Super, IBF and WBO belts, but he was not enough for the entire distance – the lost decisive rounds cost him the victory.
It turns out that Garcia’s candidacy was proposed by coach Joshua Angel Fernandez, whom the ex-champion seems to trust a lot: “I suggested that Angel choose himself. I have my own vision. But I thought if my coaches didn’t agree with him, then it wouldn’t work. So he offered to choose. We needed a more experienced person with whom he would definitely work well. We thought, and he chose Garcia. I highly appreciated his choice. We had a goal – to beat Usyk. We got very close…”
Joshua admitted that he was unhappy with some of Garcia’s comments: “He actually said a lot of things. And a lot of what he said baffled me. But I’m not a little boy, am I? I can handle it. But I decided that this time I will make the decision myself, I will do everything the way I think is right. And here I am in Texas (with new coach Derrick James).”
April 1 in London (England) Joshua has a fight with American Jermaine Franklin. The ex-champion says that he should be taken more seriously than Usyk. And the boxer from the USA promises to “put Joshua’s ass to sleep!”