Former mentor of the current holder of three titles in the heavyweight division (over 90.7 kg) Ukrainian Alexander Usik (20-0, 13 KOs) James Ali Bashir spent
conversation with a British blogger.
The American coach commented on Usyk’s rematch against former British champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) on the night of August 20-21, which ended with the victory of the Ukrainian fighter by a separate decision of the judges. The specialist expressed his disappointment with the actions of the coaches of the British ex-champion during the fight.
“I think bringing in Robert Garcia at the last minute, someone who has never worked with a heavyweight boxer, was a big risk. Because, in my opinion, working with heavyweights is a completely different job, which is different from working with any other weight. It was very risky to invite him to train for the most important fight of Joshua’s career.”
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“Secondly, I bring my heavyweights to a comfortable weight for them. During preparation, sparring, I determine the weight at which they will have to go to the fight. They don’t have to make a weight limit because they are heavyweights. All they need is to go through training camp and perform. Do your job at training camp and I’ll take you to the fight at that weight. Although the weight doesn’t really bother me in this fight. I think there were a lot of hitches in the fight.”
“A lot of mistakes were made during the fight. For example, I saw Joshua resting throughout the fight with his hands on the ropes. And not once did the people in his corner tell him to put his hands down in order to get the most out of the break period. No one told him this or made him put his hands down.”
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“I heard Garcia once say to do a triple jab and throw a right hook. Can you imagine hitting a southpaw with a right hook? You are going to hit such a dodgy fighter as Oleksandr Usyk with a right hook. This tells me that these guys were just guessing. They didn’t do their homework to tell him like that. They were just completely unprepared. It seems to me that Angel Fernandez spoke more than Robert Garcia. And I agree with you that there was no chemistry in the corner between the trainers and the fighter that would have helped win the fight.”