It turns out that we were a little hasty when we reported that the cooperation between American coach Robert Garcia and ex-unified heavyweight champion Briton Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) ceased after one fight – an August rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, lost in competitive fight.
But it is not exactly. Just
tells Garcia himself. Apparently, he himself doesn’t really understand anything: “I want to dot all the i’s. A few weeks ago, Joshua called and told me that he wanted to fly to the US and try to work with other coaches. But he did not say that he was not going to work with me anymore and did not say that he did not like the style instilled by me.
Garcia doesn’t really understand Joshua’s decision: “I don’t know why he decided that. But he also has a whole team of managers behind him. As far as I understand, this is their decision. I respect Anthony. And I especially respect that he personally called me and told me about plans to visit America to try to work with someone else. How did I react? I think that in coaching you should always be ready for such a turn. He is neither the first nor the last to make such a decision. I had fighters who left me for other coaches and there were those who came from other coaches to me. In such cases, I always called up first with their previous mentors.
Garcia says that “fighters often want to change mentor after a loss. And if Joshua has the same desire, then I have nothing to blame him for and there is no reason to be angry with him. In this case, I am on his side and agree with his decision. I advise him to have a training camp in the USA. And even if he does not work with me. I think it’s time for him to leave his “comfort zone”. He needs new people around, new motivation, new challenge. It will not be easy for him to snatch a top coach from the US and bring him to Europe for a while. Take the same Derrick James – he is a very busy specialist.
Garcia on the defeat of Joshua Usyk: “I have nothing to regret. We had a great plan for the fight, we made the necessary adjustments. We had good chances to win. We have to remember that we had a fight with possibly the best boxer in the world, regardless of the weight class. It was a tough challenge for both of us. Yes, for me too. It is not easy to start cooperation with a new fighter when he has to fight with such an opponent. We did everything we could. But they didn’t win.”
The other day, Joshua revealed what motivates him to continue his career. Have you heard the advice of his potential new coach? He thinks there is no way Anthony can fight Wilder right now.
