All in mind – can Robert Garcia give Anthony Joshua a psychological advantage over Oleksandr Usyk?
By: Sean Crose
Looking back at the first match between Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk from last September, it was immediately clear that Usyk had control of the tempo. Right from the opening bell, the Ukrainian tennis player used a jerky, fast-paced style, causing Joshua to lose his rhythm from the beginning. In this, Joshua is not alone. Dempsey-Tunney 1, Clay-Liston 1, Douglas-Tyson, the heavyweight title scene has long been known as boxers who were disqualified from their fights by opponents who were determined to have an advantage in terms of physical strength. spirit in the ring.
With his rematch with Usyk only a few days away, the question for Joshua now is whether he, and not Usyk, is the boxer that is psychologically dominant after the opening bell. desert in Saudi Arabia resound on Saturday or not. Under the guidance of new coach Robert Garcia, Joshua could have a chance. After all, it was Garcia of California who led the rugged Marcos Maidana to victory over Adrien Broner and near victory over the seemingly invincible Floyd Mayweather. Both Broner – and to a greater extent, Mayweather – know the importance of mental dominance. Maidana, however, proved himself how psychologically dominant he can be when he battled the colorful duo in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
“I don’t need confidence,” Joshua recently said Sun. “I have a lot of respect for Garcia, that’s why his name was originally included on the list, because of his name, his qualifications and his experience.” According to Joshua, Garcia isn’t just practicing and talking to each other. A Garcia camp, he claims, is all about the specifics. Joshua said: “I could be told ‘in this round, perfect that f —– g jab. “’The goal in this round is to get that leap. The next goal is to lean more when you throw your right hand’… It’s more tactical, so there’s a reason behind the method. “
There are those who feel Garcia is not the best option for Joshua after the towering British player parted ways with longtime coach Robert McCraken following a loss to Usyk. “Robert Garcia is an excellent coach,” promoter Bob Arum recently told FightHub, “But what experience does he really have in coaching a heavyweight?” In Arum’s view, strong contenders were never seen as Garcia’s specialty. Still, Garcia is a respected trainer with a pretty impressive resume (this is a man who has led more than his fair share of boxers to win the title). While the outcome of Saturday’s fight will ultimately fall on the warriors’ shoulders, it will be interesting to see if Garcia helps Joshua sharpen his spirit fighting skills.
