Anthony Joshua was more bothered about going 12 rounds against Oleksandr Usyk than winning fight, says new coach

Published

11th July 2022

ROBERT GARCIA claims Anthony Joshua lost his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk because he didn’t have a winning mentality.

The former featherweight boxer, 47, became Joshua’s coach last month in preparation for his rematch with Usyk.

Anthony Joshua suffered a shock defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last year

New coach Robert Garcia claims that the former heavyweight champion was not prepared for the first bout

The Brit suffered a shock defeat to the Ukrainian last year.

Usyk completely dominated the bout which took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.

And Garcia has argued that Joshua allowed it to happen because he wasn’t prepared to win.

He told SecondsOut: “You know what? I think he wasn’t thinking and prepared to win the fight.

“From what he told me, he was just thinking of going all 12 rounds.

“He never thought, ‘I got to win the fight. I just need to go 12 rounds.’ So that makes a big difference.

“Now, he’s thinking of winning and thinking of hurting somebody. That’s the most important thing.

“He’s got to be confident with his team.”

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Joshua is set to take on Usyk once again next month in Saudi Arabia.

It will be the biggest fight of his career so far as he seeks redemption following last year’s defeat.

Garcia also admitted that the former heavyweight champion has significantly improved in the build-up to the huge event.

He added: “Week by week, we see a lot of improvement in Anthony Joshua and five weeks left of hard training.

“He’s going to get better and better, so by the time the fight comes, he’s going to be 100 per cent ready.

“He’s got to be with a team that wants him to win, wants him to perform, and wants him to be a little bit tougher. I think that’s what I bring in.

“Me and Angel Fernandez are pushing him to be aggressive, to be a mean guy in the ring, to hurt anyone in front of him.

“He’s been doing that lately, and I’m very happy and pleased with how things are going.”

Last week, Joshua exclusively told SunSport how he sacked former trainer Rob McCracken for not giving him proper advice in between rounds.