"To hurt him bad" - Robert Garcia talks about Anthony Joshua's mindset ahead of Oleksandr Usyk rematch
Anthony Joshua is currently preparing to become a three-time world champion when he faces Oleksandr Usyk this year. The Brit is on a mission to win his titles back from the Ukrainian, who dethroned him in September last year with a clinical performance. Ahead of their highly awaited rematch, 'AJ's new trainer Robert Garcia spoke about Joshua's mindset going into the fight:
"He hates to lose. He's thinking like a fighter, he's thinking about going out there to do his job - to hurt his opponent, to win, to dominate, to hurt him bad. And that's the mentality that he needs to have."
The last time the pair fought, Joshua looked lost inside the ring. The Ukrainian completely dominated the Brit and gave him the second loss of his career. Following the fight, many boxers and analysts questioned 'AJ's mindset, saying he did not have the desire to win anymore. Now, with Robert Garcia on his side, the Brit's mindset seems to have improved.
“AJ has enough time to change things around! He is a remarkable person.” 👏 “AJ has enough time to change things around! He is a remarkable person.”
🥊 “With the right mindset and the right gameplay, Joshua can beat anybody!”
Roy Jones Jr still believes Anthony Joshua can beat anyone with the right mindset. https://t.co/LW96aDC2wP
Fans are expecting a much closer fight and it is highly unlikely that either fighter will be able to completely dominate this time.
Take a look at the interview on Robert Garcia Unfiltered:
Robert Garcia reveals Anthony Joshua has a mindest problem
Anthony Joshua's new trainer Robert Garcia spoke about how 'AJ' is suffering from a mindset problem which is why he lost against Usyk. The Mexican is currently in camp with Joshua and is helping him try to become a three-time world champion. In the same video, he spoke about how 'AJ' is not confident enough:
"Fighters come off a loss – like after the Andy Ruiz Jr. fight… They might think, 'I lost a fight, so maybe I'm not as good?'… After he lost we've seen there's more of a mental problem, so we're working on that."
Anthony Joshua seemed almost scared in his fight against Usyk and was not his usual confident self. He had a similar problem when he fought Andy Ruiz Jr. for the first time and got rocked by the Mexican. However, he came back with a better mindset and won his belts back. Following this, he fought Kubrat Pulev and was back to his dominant best.
Then, in his very next match, he lost to Usyk, which seemingly took a toll on his confidence.
3 years ago today, Andy Ruiz shocked Anthony Joshua to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF titles so I will bring this crazy 40 seconds of round 3 back to the timeline.
Incredible stuff!
#boxing https://t.co/yHwXWGPs8u
In a sport like boxing, confidence is everything. Fights are often won in the build-up to the fight itself.