Anthony Joshua's trainer Robert Garcia believes the Brit was beaten by Oleksandr Usyk because he lacked intensity.
Joshua was attempting to exact revenge against Usyk in Saudi Arabia last weekend but found himself on the wrong end of a split decision loss. Usyk was able to dominate more of the fight than his rival, with Joshua's improved performance not enough to have his hand raised.
Joshua had ripped up his previous training regime and was working at Loughborough University alongside Garcia after parting ways with Robert McCracken. However Garcia believes Joshua's pressure in the fight started too late and believes he should have shown more aggression earlier on.
"Joshua should have started his pressure earlier," Garcia told IZQUIERDAZO. “In round nine we put the pressure on Usyk, and almost ended the fight, when he started to punch Usyk’s body and pressure him more. If he had done that two or three rounds before, the result may have been different. I think that Joshua was doing what we planned.
"He was using his punches to keep Usyk at distance, his jab, his reach. But I would have liked him to have thrown his jab with more power. Sometimes he was just using his jab to keep Usyk at distance. But there were many opportunities where the jab could have been more solid, but it wasn’t to be. The last three rounds changed the fight’s outcome.
"I believe we were doing well until the tenth round. We were winning on the judges' scorecards. But we could have done more, thrown the jab with more power. Throw his straight right hand with more power and throw his one-two combination more frequently. The last three rounds defined the fight, but in round nine, we were close to winning by knockout."
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Joshua was left extremely frustrated with the result and stormed out of the ring after slamming down two of the belts on the canvas, before returning to launch an X-rated rant. Later, Joshua broke down in tears at the post-fight press conference and now faces a huge rebuild if he is to challenge for a title again.
Garcia was brought in to reverse things after Joshua faced heavy criticism for his 'gun-shy' approach to the first fight. He showed significant development from the first 12 rounds, but lacked a cutting edge to close the show. Joshua will now take some time out of the ring but is eyeing a December return to the ring according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.
A whole host of options could be available for Joshua with Hearn suggesting that 'AJ' will look to target the likes of Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder. He will first likely test himself against lower ranked opposition to begin to build momentum after a damaging defeat.
