"We'll push AJ to go for the KO!" - Robert Garcia says Anthony Joshua is looking for the KO against Oleksandr Usyk
Anthony Joshua will go for the knockout this time around against Oleksandr Usyk, according to his trainer Robert Garcia.
'AJ' is set to fight Oleksandr Usyk on August 20 at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ahead of his rematch against Usyk, he hired Garcia as his head coach to make changes in his aggression and his temperament for the rematch.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports Boxing, Robert Garcia spoke about how Joshua's mentality and aim for the fight have changed:
"But, does he have the power, does he have the strength, has Usyk been dropped before? Yes. Does he like body shots? Probably not, coz he's been dropped a few times with body shots. So, can he knock him out? I think so, and that's what we're going for and I think Anthony knows it himself and myself and Angel Fernandes we're gonna push him to go for the knockout."
In the first fight against Usyk, Anthony Joshua looked to go the distance with the Ukrainian and did not focus on knocking him out. This time, the game plan is to knock out the Unified Heavyweight Champion of the World and overwhelm him with punches.
Evander Holyfield says AJ needs to 'fight like a big guy' and not 'play tag' with Usyk in order to reclaim his titles! 💥
@Holyfield | #UsykJoshua2 https://t.co/GLpX0PlQBu
Watch the interview with Sky Sports Boxing below:
Robert Garcia believes Anthony Joshua could win via decision against Oleksandr Usyk if he wanted to
Robert Garcia believes Anthony Joshua could go all the way with Oleksandr Usyk and win via decision if he wanted to. However, this is not their game plan this time around; this time, they will look for the knockout.
Here's what Garcia had to say in the same interview with Sky Sports Boxing:
"The only thing on his mind is, he's gonna win by knockout and I believe he's got, you know. Can he win by decision, yes I know that he could also win by decision because if he controls the fight, you know with his long punches, using a lot of jabs and even though we want him to back him up but if he just uses that reach and that half distance where he's controlling the fight, he could easily win a decision too."
Garcia is known for being an attack-minded coach and teaches his fighters the Mexican way of fighting, which is to stand toe-to-toe with opponents and put relentless pressure on them, always throwing punches.
"This would be the best!" 👑
Robert Garcia 🤝 Anthony Joshua