Anthony Joshua’s former trainer, Robert Garcia, has predicted what he thinks would happen should the Brit step into he ring with Deontay Wilder – a fight being eyed for 2024.
Although there was lots of talk recently of Joshua and Wilder finally sharing the ring this year, what fans will get instead is the two big hitters heavyweights and former champions on the same card but in different bouts in Saudi Arabia on December 23.
Fans will be expecting that, should Wilder and Joshua both win, they will sign to fight each other next.
One man who knows Joshua better than most is Garcia, who trained him for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk back in 2022. It was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to win back the three titles he had lost to Usyk in the first fight.
Speaking to Little Giant Boxing, he was asked about how the fight might go and started by praising Joshua, who faces Otto Wallin on the upcoming card and has once again changed his trainer ahead of this fight.
“Look, a fighter like Anthony Joshua, he’s just natural, he’s a natural athlete, people say he focuses too much on weights but he doesn’t even do weights. He’s just a natural muscular dude. He runs a lot. The skills he has, the power he has, could beat anybody.”
He then spoke about the importance of Joshua’s mental state in future fights.
“For him, it’s more about being mentally prepared. If he’s mentally prepared he’s unstoppable. When it comes to talent, he’s probably the best out there. But if somebody has doubts mentally, then there’s gonna be a problem, but if he’s able to correct that, he could beat any of those heavyweights out there.”
“Of course [I give him a shot against Wilder.] Wilder’s also had some bad losses, Fury beat him up pretty bad. You don’t know if Wilder is the same anymore, a jab could knock him out. That happens in boxing. One knockout could change your whole career.”