Eight months on from a galling defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua finally has a new trainer. Robert Garcia, the brother and trainer of Mikey Garcia, will replace Robert McCracken in the Joshua corner for his upcoming rematch with Usyk for the unified heavyweight championship.
McCracken had led ‘AJ’ to an Olympic gold medal in 2012, and steered his entire professional career up to this point. It was a largely fruitful partnership, with the Watford puncher enjoying two reigns as unified heavyweight champion of the world. But the trainer’s work was questioned as Joshua struggled against Usyk. Joshua failed to make his size advantage count against the former cruiserweight, allowing himself to be comprehensively outboxed.
This was not the first fight of Joshua’s in which strategy seemed to take a back seat. His eagerness to have a tear-up with Wladimir Klitschko saw him knocked down and nearly stopped. While he turned that fight around, he couldn’t turn the same trick in the first Andy Ruiz Jr fight. Joshua’s eagerness and inability to create distance got him knocked out by the underdog. His controlled performance to decision Ruiz in the rematch showed McCracken could get his charge boxing to orders, but such instances were becoming increasingly rare. After the baffling display against Usyk, the time felt right for a change.
Garcia can address these stylistic shortcomings. The former IBF super featherweight champion has led 14 fighters to world titles, and is known for his work in instilling a pressure-fighting style on his boxers. He was instrumental in guiding his brother, four-weight world champion Mikey Garcia, to pound-for-pound success. He was also the man behind Marcos Maidana’s stunning upset over Adrien Broner, which netted him the WBA welterweight title.
Garcia fighters are known for effective inside-fighting. Joshua stumbled against Usyk in their first meeting because he tried to outbox the master boxer. Garcia seems to be the perfect choice to get Joshua thinking like a powerful heavyweight again. Physicality on the inside, exerting advantages in strength and size and making life uncomfortable for ‘The Cat’ seems like the way to beat him. Of course, no one knows for sure considering Usyk has an unblemished 19-0 record. But a significant shift in approach is certainly needed for AJ, and Garcia looks set to provide that.
Another task for Joshua’s new trainer will be to help the former champion shut out outside distractions. Just last week footage emerged appearing to show Joshua confronting a group of university students inside a flat. Keeping ‘AJ’ out of the public eye and in the gym will be important if Joshua is to regain the focus needed to reign as heavyweight champion for the third time.
A switch in coach has been long-rumoured, and it has finally come to fruition. McCracken was somewhat unfairly maligned after the Usyk fight, considering the incredible job he’d done alongside Joshua up to that point. Still, the tactical frailties exposed on that September night at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium were clear for all to see. The time is now for a change of approach, and Robert Garcia seems like the man to lead ‘AJ’ in such a shift.
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