Anthony Joshua told to move fight camp to California and face tougher competition after crushing Oleksandr Usyk defeat
ANTONY JOSHUA’S trainer Robert Garcia wants the former heavyweight champion to start preparing for fights in the US.
Garcia, 47, worked with AJ for the first time in the build-up to his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk.
The Californian, who previously trained Luis Ortiz, flew to the UK to assist Joshua but he wants that to change moving forward.
Garcia believes an eight-week fight camp in his Californian gym would be the best way to prepare Joshua for fights – adding that the Brit needs other champion boxers to spur him on.
García told IZQUIERDAZO: “I told Anthony and all his team that, for me, the best way to keep working together is if Anthony comes to train in my gym in California eight weeks before a fight.
“From six to eight weeks, that’s all I need for a good camp.
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“I told Anthony, ‘I need you to be around more fighters, more champions. I want you to have more fighters for competition, even if they are from the same gym, but you have to compete.’
“I told him, ‘You have to want to be better than them, and they will want to be better than you. It will work for all of you.’
“That is what is missing in his gym, the fighters to be competing against each other, where they don’t want the other fighter to do more than you.
“He needs a place with other world champions around.
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“Anthony has always been alone in his camps, he didn’t have other fighters to train with.
“He needs to be in a cheerful environment, to interact with other fighters, other sparring partners. I think that that would help him a lot.”
AJ is looking to get his career back on track following successive defeats to Usyk and he has been urged to fight drug cheat Jarrell Miller by the American’s promoter Dmitriy Salita.
Deontay Wilder is also plotting his return to the ring and after taking on Robert Helenius he is keen to fight everyone, including Joshua.