As Anthony Joshua prepares for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, the Brit has made some adjustments to his training team. Joshua has chosen American trainer Robert Garcia to be his new coach along with Angel Fernandez.
Robert McCracken was the heavyweight’s long-time trainer before the Brit suffered his second professional defeat to Usyk in 2021. The former two-time world champion has now partnered up with Garcia due to his track record at world level.
After being dominated by the Ukrainian last September, the Brit was encouraged to employ a new training team. He hopes that Garcia will help find a new strategy to beat the pound-for-pound king.
Anthony Joshua’s camp manager David Ghansa spoke to iFL TV about the new additions to Joshua’s squad, saying:
“It was actually married through Angel Fernandez and Robert Garcia, they clicked. Angel liked what Garcia had to offer, there’s experience, there’s similarities and ever since, them two have been chopping it up. In his absence, Angel’s been sending Garcia footage of sparring between AJ, Richard [Riakporhe], all of his fighters and now he’s here as part of Angel’s team.”
Ghansa was then asked who would take the lead trainer role, to which he replied:
“I wouldn’t put any of them above each other, but they’ll both understand their positions and where they play with each other. You’ll get a taste of it next week when you see [Richard] Riakporhe’s corner.”
With the heavyweight rematch set to be announced soon, the venue will likely be the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia. Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn hopes to announce the fight date in the coming days.
Hearn revealed that he would have liked to announce a date this week with the fight taking place on July 23. However, Joshua has indicated that the date could now be pushed back by two weeks.
Watch Anthony Joshua and David Ghansa’s full interview here:
What can Robert Garcia offer to Anthony Joshua?
Roberto Garcia Cortez is regarded as an elite level boxing coach and was voted Trainer of the Year by The Ring magazine in 2011. He was also voted Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2012.
The 47-year-old has guided his brother Mikey Garcia to multiple world championships in four weight classes. He further coached Marcos Maidana to several world titles.
Anthony Joshua has already claimed that Garcia hasn’t been employed to change his boxing style but to offer experience.
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The American trainer will offer Anthony Joshua valuable experience and fresh ideas, which will be heavily needed against Oleksandr Usyk. Garcia has been involved with boxing for many years and looks like a sensible option for the Brit.
Anthony Joshua’s new trainer Robert Garcia has arrived in the UK, pictured with fellow AJ coach Angel Fernandez and cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe… https://t.co/BUdJsJ9BtK
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