Anthony Joshua has revealed that Robert Garcia is not his coach of choice and that he was ‘confused’ by the Mexican boxer’s comments to the media following his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Much of it was made up of Joshua’s move from longtime coach, Rob McCracken, after his first loss to Usyk. Determined to regain the title, the former champion moved on to Robert Garcia, coach of Jose Ramirez and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
He revealed to TalkSPORT that although he gave the final sign, it was the decision of Angel Fernandez – another member of his coaching team and the one who eventually stood with Garcia in the fight.
“I said, ‘Okay, you know what, Angel? Due to my past experience when I put in the coach, you choose.’ Even though I have a vision, if my coaches don’t think it’s right, it won’t work.
So I said, ‘The best thing you can do with Angel to do this job with someone with more experience is you pick who you think is right for you. We walked around, he said, ‘Robert Garcia.’
I said, ‘You know what, I judge him. Been there, done it.’ And the target is Oleksandr Usyk – that’s our goal. We’ve come up with a succinct way.
After the loss, Garcia spoke to the media about Joshua’s performance. He said his boxer was ‘mentally defeated’ by the end of the bout and Usyk was stronger in that regard.
‘AJ’ went on to say that the coach’s comments had confused him and likely contributed to the breakdown. This time around, he personally led the pursuit.
“I just feel that, Garcia said a lot, that also confused me. But I’m not small – what words can I use in this program? – I’m not a boy. I can accept, but at the same time – I can’t talk about you, and you can’t back down either.
“So I said, ‘Rah, some things don’t complement me, some things people are saying don’t complement.’ So the second time I just said, ‘This time I’ll make the decision, I’ll do it myself.’ And that’s why I got my current position where I work in Texas.”
Derrick James was the one Joshua approached – Coach of the Year, who beat world champions Errol Spence Jr and Jermell Charlo. ‘AJ’ is deep in camp with his coach in Texas, and said in his recent press conference that it is as serious as he has been preparing for a long time.
What they did in camp will be on full display on April 1, as Joshua looks to get his professional career back on track with a win over Jermaine Franklin.
