Anthony Joshua's ex-coach Robert Garcia has warned that the former heavyweight champion could need as many as three more 'tune-up' fights before he can challenge again for world honours.
The two-time heavyweight champion teamed up with renowned trainer Garcia for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk last year, but opted for a new direction after losing that bout and replaced him with Derrick James. Joshua debuted his new coach on Saturday night against Jermaine Franklin and despite winning comfortably, was unable to impress viewers.
Having worked with the Brit for an entire camp, Garcia feels that Joshua should slow down the rate at which he's returning to the division's top table and take a number of easier fights. It's in contrast with Joshua himself, who feels that he could face Tyson Fury as soon as this summer for the WBC title.
“It’s hard when a fighter gets two losses and comes back," Garcia told FightHype after watching Joshua's comeback fight. "There’s always going to be some doubts in himself, and the good thing is he won, and they picked the right opponent to get him back to a win, especially with a new trainer.
“It’s good because they need to do another three of those types of fights to get him used to his new trainer and get him to a winning streak. I told him before he left, with me or without me, to bring him to the United States. He’s not the best at that gym. If he had come to my gym, we have Bam [Rodriguez].
"Bam is 200lb lighter than you, but he’s going to be better than you. That’s what Anthony needed, and I told him that he needed. “He didn’t choose my gym, and that’s fine. He still did it with Derrick James. They did the right thing."
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Garcia has faced criticism from Joshua and others after the pair's break-up, with the Brit taking aim at his former coach ahead of his comeback last week. However, he has insisted that he wasn't the only person to make criticism of his ex-fighter, with many noting that his mentality appeared to have taken a hit during his outburst following his second loss to Usyk.
Asked about his criticisms of Joshua, Garcia replied: "Because I said that he lost his head after the fight and grabbed the mic and the belts. I wasn’t the only one that said it. The whole world seen that. So me seeing that if I was to stay quiet, it’s just to make him happy.
"I’m not a ‘yes man.’ I know it wasn’t right [to throw Usyk's belts after his loss]. I felt bad for Usyk. Usyk is a world champion and just defended his championship, and Anthony grabbed his belts and threw them out. That’s very disrespectful. So what am I supposed to say? That I’m proud that he did the right thing. So because I said it, he feels bad?”
