Robert Garcia has responded to criticism from Anthony Joshua over comments he made after ‘AJ’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last year.
Garcia was Joshua’s trainer for his rematch to Usyk, and suggested that the Brit had already lost the fight mentally going into the final few rounds of the contest.
The former heavyweight world champion recently told the media at the press conference for his comeback fight that he was “baffled” by Garcia’s comments.
The esteemed trainer, however, explained to ID Boxing that he was simply just giving his honest opinion on how the fight unfolded.
“Obviously a fighter in the ring is going to be challenged by what people say after the fight.”
“Just because I was his trainer, doesn’t mean I’m going to lie about it. I wasn’t the only one that said that – he should be mad and frustrated at the whole world – because everyone said the same thing!”
“When you have a fighter who does so good in one round, you’re almost about to stop your opponent, it makes a big difference when the next round is totally different.”
“There was a lot to be said by so many boxing experts, I’m not the only one who said that.”
Joshua returns to action in under a month, taking on Jermaine Franklin at the 02 Arena on April 1st.
Franklin gave a good account of himself in defeat to Dillian Whyte last November, however Joshua still goes into the contest as a firm favourite as he looks to build towards another world title shot.
It will be AJ’s first outing under new trainer Derrick James, who many feel is the perfect man to turn Joshua into a three time world heavyweight world champion.