"They seem to work with fighters who don't mind taking a shot" - Dave Coldwell is unsure about Robert Garcia joining Anthony Joshua's team
Dave Coldwell is not overly convinced with Robert Garcia joining Anthony Joshua's team ahead of the Brit's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. The experienced boxing coach believes Garcia is used to training fighters who are more durable than Joshua.
Usyk dominated Joshua and captured a 12-round unanimous decision back in September 2021 at the Tottenham Stadium in London. Many believe that 'AJ' employed the wrong tactics against the skillful Ukrainian and needed to impose his physicality instead.
Watch the fight highlights between Joshua and Usyk:
Garcia was recently added to Joshua's team alongside Angel Fernandez to help reignite the Brit's aggressive style that allowed him to become a world champion.
Here's what Coldwell said in an interview with Boxing Social:
"I don't know how Robert Garcia works at all. All I know is I look at the fighter's he's worked with and the one thing I worry about...They work with fighters in a certain way where they are not meaning to knock anybody but like Freddie Roach, Robert Garcia. They seem to work with fighters that don't mind taking a shot or being in that pocket to land a shot."
Watch the full interview below:
Dave Coldwell questions whether Robert Garcia has enough time to improve Anthony Joshua's confidence
Coldwell continued by speculating whether Garcia could make a significant difference to Anthony Joshua's mindset before the Usyk rematch in August. He said:
"The people who have known him best all the way through his career, people around him all the time like Rob McCracken, his friends, his management. If they haven't been able to fix that problem since the Klitchsko [Wladimir] fight, since the Ruiz fight, since the Usyk fight. Then it's a big ask for somebody who doesn't quite know yet on that level."
Garcia has worked with world-class, come-forward fighters in the past but it remains to be seen if he can restore 'AJ's' confidence.
Since losing his first professional bout to Andy Ruiz back in 2019 and getting stopped in the seventh round, Joshua has adopted a safer, back-foot boxing approach. These tactics worked in the rematch against Ruiz and also while facing Pulev at Wembley Arena in 2020.
Watch the full fight between Joshua and Ruiz 2:
Regardless, Usyk is an elite fighter who is ranked No.2 in the pound-for-pound list by Ring Magazine. Hence, Joshua will have to produce the best performance of his career to have any chance of regaining his belts.