Anthony Joshua will no longer work with Robert Garcia or any other coach exclusively following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
'AJ' parted ways with long-term coach Robert McCracken last year after facing heavy criticism for his tactics in his second career defeat to the Ukrainian last year. The former two-time champion then linked up with experienced coach Robert Garcia who came over to the UK to prepare him for the lucrative second meeting in Saudi Arabia back in August.
However Garcia was unable to guide Joshua to his revenge as he lost sight of his unified heavyweight world titles for the foreseeable future after falling to a split decision defeat again against Usyk. Now the British star has insisted he will work with coaches on a fight-to-fight basis, but predicts that he will work with Garcia again in the future.
“So in terms of Robert Garcia, thank you for asking. I respect him a lot," Joshua told Sporting News when asked who would be cornering him for his potential comeback in 2023. "He’s a really good man, really good trainer. Will I work with him again? Yeah I would, but what I’ve said to Robert and the team as well is that I want to be a free spirit. You know, I locked myself down for 11 years with one coach, and now I just feel like I just want to learn as much as possible.
"Honestly, if you know me closely, which a lot of the viewers probably don’t, what it is is it’s not the trainer it’s about the fighter, what he has up here [in his head]. So I feel I’m in a position where I’m able to work with anyone. So, yeah, who knows what will happen next year.”
Garcia, who has trained 14 fighters to world titles during his career, flew over to Joshua's camp to corner the heavyweight with his other trainer Angel Fernandez who the heavyweight had brought over from his existing team. The pair worked at Loughborough University which was a significant move away from his previous long-term Sheffield base.
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Despite confidence in Joshua that he could secure unlikely redemption, the 33-year-old was unable to overturn the margins despite showing an improved display. Garcia claimed after the fight that Joshua should consider relocating to America for his next camp, depending on when his opponent is confirmed.
“I told Anthony and all his team that, for me, the best way to keep working together is if Anthony comes to train in my gym in California eight weeks before a fight," García told Izquierdazo. “From six to eight weeks, that’s all I need for a good camp. I told Anthony, ‘I need you to be around more fighters, more champions, I want you to have more fighters for competition, even if they are from the same gym, but you have to compete'."
