Robert Garcia, who trained Anthony Joshua for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, has predicted that Joshua will knock Tyson Fury out cold in their anticipated heavyweight showdown, provided the British fighter arrives mentally ready.
Garcia, speaking with ESNEWS, said Joshua possesses both the skill and the power to beat Fury, pointing to his right hand as the decisive weapon in the contest.
“If AJ is mentally ready, I think that AJ has the skills and the power to win. He has the right hand to knock him out, but he has got to be mentally and physically 100 per cent. Physically, I know that he is always ready — AJ is always in shape. He trains hard and was dedicated when I was with him,” Garcia said.
He cautioned, however, that Fury’s unpredictability made him a persistent threat regardless of his conditioning.
“Fury is a street guy. He doesn’t give a damn. He could come in heavy and fat, but he is still going to give a good fight,” Garcia said.
The former trainer was unambiguous about how the fight ends if Joshua connects cleanly.
“With that right hand, if AJ lands, he will knock him out cold. And he gets hit with a lot of right hands,” he said.
The Joshua-Fury fight has been agreed and is targeted for October, with Wembley Stadium the preferred venue according to Fury’s promoter Frank Warren, who confirmed it would be streamed on Netflix.
The bout is contingent on Joshua coming through his scheduled warm-up fight against Albania’s Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Garcia handled Joshua’s corner for his second fight with Usyk after the Londoner suffered defeat under his previous trainer, Rob McCracken. Joshua has since worked with Derrick James, Ben Davison and, most recently, Iegor Golub, who also coaches Usyk, for his bout against Jake Paul and is expected to remain with Golub for the Prenga and Fury fights.