Anthony Joshua’s decision to hire Robert Garcia as trainer for Saturday’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk may not deliver him the win he craves.
Dave Coldwell trained Tony Bellew for his defeat to Usyk in 2018 and is unsure if Joshua’s style will suit Garcia’s tactics. Garcia wants his fighters to be aggressive and Coldwell feels Joshua is uncomfortable fighting on the front foot because he does not like taking shots.
“Garcia’s fighters are all very good aggressive counter punchers, smart fighters,” he said. “That means AJ has got to be comfortable with punches coming his way and that’s something he’s never shown yet. Just because that style works for fighter A, it doesn’t mean it will work for fighter B. It’s all about the mental make-up, can they box in that style?
“If you’re looking at walking someone down, you’ll maybe take a few shots on the way in so are you tough enough to take those shots when it might take your legs away?”
Coldwell, who is part of Sky Sports’ coverage of the rematch, also feels Joshua must be more pro-active. Coldwell says Usyk is a master of the mind games and says Joshua was too passive in the first fight.
“You have to give credit to Usyk because he doesn’t just beat you physically, he beats you mentally,” he said. “Right from the first bell he showed AJ he was very difficult to hit, and that put doubt into AJ’s head. Then after about 20 seconds he landed a left hand, straight down the pipe and he showed AJ ‘I can hit you whenever I want with my power shot’.
“In the first fight he reacted to everything Usyk did rather than focus on what he could do. AJ needs to have a sustained attack on the body because if he can take Usyk’s legs away and get in range for his own punches, then he can go to work.”
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Coldwell, who also trained Derek Chisora, is intrigued to see what Usyk’s mindset is like because of the Russian invasion of his Ukrainian homeland. Usyk volunteered for several weeks as a defence fighter before beginning camp and Coldwell says it would play into Joshua’s hands if he could not control his emotions.
“I worry when a fighter of mine goes though something emotional because come fight night, if you don’t control your emotions, it can affect your decision making,” he said. “Does Usyk go in there thinking about what’s gone on and who he’s representing, does that affect him on the night?
“Does he fight on emotion and then does that cause him to make mistakes in the fight? When fighters let their emotions rule them, they can get beat. “Look at Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. Sugar Ray, amazing skill, we all know how he beats Roberto Duran, but because Duran got under his skin, his mentality was to go and fight him. He stands there and fights him and puts himself in a position where he gets beat. That’s why this fight is so intriguing.”
- Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk 2 is live this Saturday on Sky Sports Box Office.
