"He did very well" - Mikey Garcia reflects on Anthony Joshua's split decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk
Mikey Garcia is proud of Anthony Joshua's recent performance against Oleksandr Usyk, despite losing to the Ukrainian for a consecutive time.
In a highly action-packed contest, Joshua was able to hurt Usyk on several occasions and was close to getting a stoppage in the ninth round. However, the former Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion showcased his phenomenal engine to dominate the championship rounds and claim a split-decision victory.
Watch the fight highlights of Usyk vs Joshua 2:
'AJ' was trained by Mikey's brother, Robert Garcia, and displayed noticeable improvements in the rematch against Usyk.
In an interview with Fight Hype, Mikey Garcia expressed how Joshua trained hard for the fight and was unfortunate to lose:
"He was doing very good. He was training hard. He was working on the things that we believed were necessary for a good fight. He did very well. He came up a little short but that's just boxing. He's just a very good fighter [Oleksandr Usyk]. Very difficult, southpaw, moves a lot, difficult to hit. So he went in there to do what he had to do but...I think it was a very close fight."
Watch the full interview:
Anthony Joshua is not satisifed with his performance against Oleksandr Usyk
Despite being considerably more competitive than in his first encounter with Usyk, Anthony Joshua still believes he could have performed at a higher level. 'AJ' said the following in the post-fight press conference:
"It wasn't good enough. I adapted, I made changes needed to give him a more competitive fight. It wasn't enough. I left everything in the gym. If I'd have left everything in the ring, I would've won."
Watch the full press conference on SecondsOut:
With two consecutive losses on his record, it is unlikely that 'AJ' will challenge for a world title again any time soon. However, there are still massive fights for the Brit to be involved in to cement his legacy.
At only 32, Joshua is arguably in the prime of his career. The former unified Heavyweight Champion has no plans to retire and is likely to return to the ring in November or December. A possible opponent for 'AJ' is British rival Dillian Whyte, who is coming off a devastating loss to Tyson Fury back in April.