Anthony Joshua addressed his former trainer Robert Garcia’s criticisms as he prepared to fight for the first time under Derrick James.
Garcia, who worked with Joshua for only his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, was quoted as describing Joshua as “mentally defeated” by the 10th round, and though he has since insisted his comments were lost in translation, Joshua remains uncomfortable about the fact he discussed him at all.
Joshua’s previous, long-term, trainer Rob McCracken has remained silent on Joshua replacing him after his first defeat by Usyk – and despite the fact his decision to relocate to Dallas to work with James means he is no longer working with Angel Fernandez, he and Fernandez remain on good terms.
His fight on Saturday at London’s O2 Arena against the 29-year-old Jermaine Franklin will be Joshua’s first since his defeats by Usyk and since Garcia was replaced with James, and asked about the respected Garcia’s comments, Joshua, 33, said: “When it comes to your head coach I think it is important to keep things in-house, especially when you are talking about your fighters. There are things I didn’t like about some of my old coaches that I could talk about but I don’t.
“And I didn’t like that. I found it weird. I am not perfect – trust me, I do have tough days in camp – but he went and pointed those things out, out of all the things we did in training camp.”
