Esteemed trainer Robert Garcia declined the opportunity to be involved in a Netflix documentary about Anthony Joshua, saying that he would “rather stay quiet”.
The former world champion and coach of top-level fighters, including Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Vergil Ortiz Jr, began working with ‘AJ’ ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
After losing to the masterful Ukrainian in 2021, Joshua continued training with head coach Angel Fernandez but strengthened his team with the addition of Garcia.
This led to him producing a commendable performance in their rematch the following year, when he lost a split decision but seemed to implement a more effective strategy.
Yet despite the clear improvements, Joshua ultimately decided to leave both Hernandez and Garcia, who has now offered his verdict on the 36-year-old’s potential showdown with Tyson Fury.
The two heavyweights are expected to collide later this year, or perhaps in early 2027, with both having completed their respective warm-up fights.
For Fury, it was a relatively straightforward, albeit lacklustre, performance that saw him stop the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in seven rounds last Friday.
Joshua, however, was floored twice in the opening round by Kristian Prenga last Saturday, before stopping his previously little-known opponent in the following three minutes.
Speaking with ProBox TV, coach Garcia admitted his interest in the Fury fight while, at the same time, expressing his concern over Joshua’s immediate future.
“Sometimes it might be a bad thing for promoters, fans and all of us wishing him to go through that round so he could get the win, because whenever he steps into another fight, it could be dangerous.
“[Netflix are] doing a documentary on [Joshua], and they wanted to fly me to London to talk about the months I spent with him.
“I denied it, because I don’t want to be part of this. I’m not going to lie to nobody. I’d rather stay quiet. Honestly, we were cheering for him to win [against Prenga] because we want to see him against Fury. I still want to see it – it’s a competitive fight.
“I’m going to be cheering for AJ, but it could be dangerous [for him to keep fighting] … We’re cheering for this guy to get up, get up. It could be dangerous what comes after that … I would love to see him win. He’s a great person.”
While the plan, it seems, is for Joshua and Fury to collide before long, there has been no announcement regarding the date and location of their long-awaited clash, only reports of mid-November with New York the preferred location of the broadcaster.
