Former World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) was offended by Robert Garcia for his words after losing in a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. Their cooperation ended after one fight, but Garcia does not regret those words.
“After a good ninth round, Usyk returned with a very strong tenth round. AJ was mentally broken then, this changed the course of the fight. Usyk just turned out to be morally stronger, ”said Garcia after losing the rematch with Usyk.
“I was surprised by the words of Garcia that I was defeated mentally and physically. Therefore, I had to make a decision about a new coach, ”Joshua later admitted, and hired Derrick James.
“I am not going to hide the truth just because I am talking about my ward. This was my opinion at the time, and I was not alone in this. In one round, AJ almost finished the fight ahead of schedule, but in the next everything changed. In my opinion, the fact that he was so close to success, and then his behavior after the fight, just showed that he was very upset by all this. My opinion was shared by many people in the boxing world. And the point is not that the coach should only speak positively about his boxer and praise him. So a boxer will never understand what his coach really means and what he expects from his wards. So I don't regret what I said," Garcia added.
Joshua, already with a new coach in the corner, will box on April 1 in London, when he will meet with American Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs).
