By Barry Holbrook: Anthony Joshua’s trainer Robert Garcia says he would have preferred AJ to take two or three fights before facing Tyson Fury.
Garcia feels Dec. 3 is too soon for Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) to return after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Aug. 20. Joshua ran out of fuel in the championship rounds of that fight and came up short.
Robert says they will do everything they can to train for the fight against WBC heavyweight champion Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) if it happens on December 3.
He thinks Joshua can win with his hand speed and power, but wants to make sure he works harder in camp so he doesn’t run into trouble in the championship rounds.
“Hell [Joshua] go out there and train, and we will do our best to go out there and win. The fight will not be easy, but can it be won? Yes, we could win that fight,” Robert Garcia told iD Boxing. “Would I prefer it to happen in two or three fights? Yeah, but it’s a big fight, and it’s a big deal.
Joshua made the decision on his own to take the fight with Fury next as he felt it might be his only chance to face him.
“Their management team is very smart when it comes to negotiations and final decisions,” Garcia said. “I’d rather it take two or three fights than something big.
“Anthony took the rematch with Usyk right away when he could have easily taken two or three fights before that,” Garcia said.
“Anthony has great speed and great power. Will he be able to catch it? Of course. I would say train a little bit more because you need those extra three rounds that you lost at the end of the Usyk fight,” Garcia said when asked what Joshua needs to do to beat Fury.
“He has great power and speed. Do I think we should push him a little more? Yes I think so [Fury-Joshua] happens, it will not be December 3 because there is not enough time.
“I think of promoting the fight; might be pushing a little too soon. If it does, we’ll be ready. Anthony is one of those guys who is always in shape. With a good eight-week training camp, he is more than enough,” Garcia said.
