Boxer, Anthony Joshua’s coach, Robert Garcia has given him a brutal wake up call following reports that the former world champion could sack him.
Garcia replaced Joshua’s long time coach Rob McCracken for his ultimately unsuccessful rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah earlier this year.
However, despite an improved performance after just one camp with Garcia, it appears ‘AJ’ is yet again on the hunt for a new trainer and will not work with Garcia moving forward.
Speaking about Joshua to IZQUIERDAZO, Garcia at first said:
“He is a complete athlete. He started to box at 18 years old and three years later he was an olympic gold medalist. That is something big, without having that much amateur experienced. Then he turned pro, and a couple of years later he was a world champion – that proves he is a natural born athlete.”
“He is an athlete that accomplished so much that he didn’t need to be strict in his commitment in the gym, in his training regime and in the election of a coach.”
He then criticized Joshua, saying his early success may have led to complacency in the most recent phase of his career, suggesting things came ‘easier’ for the British-Nigerian boxer.
“Everything was a little bit easier for him than any other boxer, so that was something he got used to.
“Because everything was kind of easy and quick for him, he thought that that was the right way to do it. That he didn’t need to do it in another way.
‘But when the time comes for this kind of fights (like Usyk), with fighters of a higher level, tougher fights, harder fights, you need a stricter camp, where he follows indications.
“He is a dedicated fighter, he does and listens to what he is told to, but maybe he thinks that he was a champion without doing that much or without having that much commitment. But when you are fighting against opponents like Usyk, that is something different.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has stated repeatedly that Joshua will return to the ring in early 2023, however it is unclear as of yet who will be in the opposite corner.