Another change of trainer for Anthony Joshua, who failed, once again, to solve the boxing puzzle that is Oleksandr Usyk? It seems not. According to Robert Garcia, who was brought in (secretly at first) not long after Joshua had lost the first fight with Usyk, he will be staying on board as Joshua’s trainer.
Garcia did add some improvements to Joshua’s game, with AJ winning a couple more rounds against Usyk compared to the first fight, so it seems Garcia and Joshua work pretty well together. Speaking with Izquierdazo, Garcia said he likes the fact that Joshua, in wanting to get right back in the ring in November (Eddie Hearn prefers December and Garcia agrees), showed his “warrior” attitude.
If it is December when the former two-time (he still hopes to be a three-time) heavyweight champ fights again, Joshua will not have long to rest, nor will he and Garcia have too much time to work on additional tactics and further improvements to Joshua’s game. It has been quite some time since Joshua fought twice inside a four month period. Who knows, coming back from the Usyk disappointment so quickly could prove to be a bad idea.
Then again, maybe Joshua’s long months between fights have hurt him, and maybe a brisker work schedule would help him; his mental game and ability to relax in fights in particular. There is, so many of the great boxing trainers say, nothing like staying active, keeping the tools sharp, not gaining rust in the shed.
But who might Joshua, still only 32 years old, fight in comeback fight number-three? A few names have been mentioned, including Dillian Whyte and even Deontay Wilder. But we can almost certainly scratch both names off the list, for now at least. Wilder, aside from being far too dangerous, has his own comeback fight set for October, against Robert Helenius. While the worst kept secret in boxing today says Whyte will fight Daniel Dubois before the year is out.
A couple of fighters who might get the call to box AJ:
Otto Wallin. A good test and a good enough name. Joshua would also have the added incentive of doing something Tyson Fury was unable to do when he fought the tall Swede, and that”s KO Wallin. Or maybe Joshua will not fancy facing another “nightmare” southpaw?
Zhilei Zhang. “Big Bang,” another lefty, has wanted to get Joshua in the ring again ever since losing to him at the London Olympics. And the towering Chinese fighter made a good impression on fans with his close, he might have won it, battle with Filip Hrgovic Might Hearn be planning to take AJ to China?
Who would YOU like to see Joshua fight when he makes his ring return?