Anthony Joshua has cited tactical reasons for his decision to part ways with Robert McCracken and partner with Robert Garcia for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua is hoping to become a three-time heavyweight champion by winning his heavyweight belts back against Usyk on August 20. The Brit was encouraged to part ways with his longtime trainer McCracken after being outpointed by Usyk last September. After touring the US in search of a new coach, Joshua employed Garcia and Angel Fernandez as his two main trainers for the rematch.
'AJ' told The Sun of his decision to partner with Garcia: "This time around rather than taking control, I learned that what I want is not as important as what the coach wants. The coach has to able to work in an environment where he can teach me. I was willing to hand over the reins to guys and say ‘we need to work on x, y and z, but I want you guys to make the decisions’.
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“I am a sponge, I will learn from anyone, so I let them control the environment and - as long as it is a happy environment - I will get a good workout. If I come into a gym I have set-up but people are not getting along, he isn’t speaking to him or he doesn’t get along with him, I am not going to get the most out of the environment and that is how we have managed it this time around.”
Joshua said that he decided to partner with Garcia because of his "credentials and experience" as a trainer. Garcia and Fernandez have been fine-tuning the Brit's technique in the lead up to his rematch with Usyk, something Joshua feels has been focused on more compared to when he was coached by McCracken.
“Me and Rob would walk in and do skipping, shadow boxing, pads and the bag," Joshua added. "He would obviously say things like ‘hands up’ or ‘slip there’ but Angel and Robert Garcia break things down more. Now I might get told ‘in this round, perfect that f****ng jab. The goal in this round is to get that jab popping. The next goal is to tilt more when you throw the right hand’.
“It’s more tactical like that, so there is reasoning behind the method. It’s a lot to remember, it can be a bit brain fatiguing but nothing will fatigue me more than being in that ring and going through it for 12 rounds, for real, so I have to go through it.”
