‘You can’t punch your way out of every situation’, British boxer Anthony Joshua is realizing the credibility of these words with every passing day. The once impressive boxer touted for championship glory, now struggles to stay relevant with chances to get called a ‘shot-fighter’. One of his trainers, Robert Garcia, shares his insight and proposes a solution on the matter.
Joshua has picked up 24 wins thus far (22 of which came via KO), but something happened in 2019. The loss by TKO against Andy Rulz probably left a mark on the upcoming prospect. He did manage to KO Kubrat Pulev on his next match but his last 2 bouts against Oleksandr Usyk did not go his way.
While speaking to Izquierdazo, Robert Garcia pointed out a few reasons behind the former Olympic Gold medalist’s downfall. One of the major reasons behind AJ’s downfall seems to be his habit of hiring new trainers frequently. None of these trainers gets to work with the Brit properly and the results are displayed during the game.
It almost seems like Anthony expects to one day just randomly find the ‘right trainer’ for him that will magically rejuvenate his win-streak. All this time Joshua has kept Angel Fernandez around seemingly for show. Letting go of Angel is a good start but Joshua also needs to just work with a single coach for a significant amount of time.
Robert pointed out, “Because everything was kind of easy and quick for him, he thought that it 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 fight [such as Oleksandr Usyk], with fighters of a higher level, tougher fights, harder fights, you need a stricter camp, where he follows indications,” Garcia further added.
AJ currently needs to work on his cardio as he tends to get tired around the 3rd round. High level fighters are usually durable and will probably beat him with their stamina. Anthony also needs to up his defense as staying safe from damage is just as important as saving yourself from it.
The last and biggest issue that Joshua needs to address is his tendency to ignore advice and instructions from his corner. An easy early career has given the British boxer a fake sense of confidence which leads him to flat out ignore any advice coming from his own corner.
Now that Tyson Fury is back from retirement, Joshua needs to put up an impressive show just to get one last shot at ‘The Gypsy King.’
