How Anthony Joshua's new team has cut through the hype to try fix old problems

In the months following his defeat Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua conceded ‘there were too many voices’ in his corner of the ring that fateful night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As the Ukrainian turned in a masterful performance en route to winning the IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles, the voices of head trainer Rob McCracken and Joby Clayton were heard, hailing Joshua’s work despite it being clear the game plan wasn’t working and he was losing the fight.

Joshua would later admit he went into rounds unaware he needed to get his act together and the need for change was evident. Since then, McCracken, the man who has led Joshua throughout his professional career, has departed along with his assistant Clayton.

Angel Fernandez, recruited by Joshua in 2019, is the only surviving member of the corner team from that night, promoted to oversee camp for Saturday’s rematch in Jeddah. Three months ago, the revered Robert Garcia was brought in as co-trainer, providing world title experience and wise counsel in a closely-knit team.

Only one other fighter in boxing is trained by the Fernandez-Garcia duo, cruiserweight star Richard Riakporhe. The undefeated Londoner moved onto the brink of a world title shot with a devastating stoppage win over Fabio Turchi in June, embracing the ‘Mexican mentality’ Garcia’s presence has brought to his game with Fernandez overseeing his sublime rise since the summer of 2020. Few are in a better position to offer insight into how the dynamics of the team work.

‘You have someone with a tonne of experience in Robert and a very ambitious coach in Angel who has shown great results from everything he has been involved in and with every fighter he has worked with,’ Riakporhe told Metro.co.uk.

‘That combination gave me so much confidence. Robert Garcia brings that mental aspect as well as the experience, he has had so many world champions in the past, a lot of Mexican champions. Their mentality can be on another level, they don’t mind taking a shot to give one. That mentality is very important. A lot of fighters, especially in this county, they lack that.’

With Fernandez structuring fight camps and picking sparring partners, Garcia’s world level experience enabled Riakphore to broaden his game with the Londoner confident he has done likewise with Joshua.

A former champion himself, he has guided 14 fighters to world titles including Abner Mares, Marcos Maidana and brother Mikey Garcia. Given his profile, his role has been heavily scrutinised in the weeks and months leading up to fight week.

‘He is used to this all now and he is probably at a stage where he doesn’t really care [about the pressure],’ Riakphore continued. ‘He understands that in this game, pressure makes diamonds and he’s been in positions in the past where he has had pressure on him but he doesn’t fold. You can tell that from the way he speaks. He is confident in what he knows he can bring. I think he is comfortable with the pressure – some people thrive under it and he is one of those people.’

Following last September’s defeat in London, there were suggestions that Joshua had become too comfortable in the Sheffield fight camp he has called home his entire professional career, under the guidance of McCracken.

Switching his training base to Loughborough where ‘AJ’ now works alongside Riakphore and fellow heavyweight Frazer Clarke, there has been ample time to implement technical improvements and master the tactics needed to solve the Usyk puzzle.

More tellingly, he has been in an environment where there has been no hesitation in cutting through the superficial praise typified by those shouts of ‘brilliant AJ’! that emerged from his corner last September and delivering reality checks when needed.

‘Looking back, in the last fight all we heard was positivity coming from the corner,’ Riakphore said. ‘I thought, “are they watching the same fight?” Joshua was losing clearly. And that is dangerous.

‘I would never want my coaches or friends to support me in that way, I want them to be honest. You can encourage, but there is a difference between encouragement and delusion. Sometimes you need that truth. I think that is going to change, that is not going to happen in this fight in my opinion with Robert and Angel there, they are going to be encouraging but they will kick him up the backside if he shows any signs of slacking.

‘When people are harsh and critique you to the point where it hurts you, you can channel that emotion in the right way. It can make you do some awesome things in life in general and especially when you are competing in sport.

‘A lot of the best rounds of fights in the past have come from coaches saying harsh things. Something clicks and then bang; you see something else. The fighter shows another side. It takes a coach talking to you in that way to unlock that. It is only a good thing.’

Joshua’s mindset in the lead-up to Saturday’s rematch in Jeddah has been the subject of discussion with the former champion forced to dismiss talk that another defeat could see him walk away from the sport. While Fernandez and Garcia have been tasked with preparing him inside the gym, Riakporhe reveals Joshua is fully aware of the mental shortcomings that hamstrung him last year.

‘Anthony is someone who likes to study and understand everything to a tee. He told me he went through a lot mentally after the defeat and it taught him different things about himself.

‘I know for a fact, he definitely understands what he did wrong in the last fight and what he needs to do next. This fight is all mental. It’s clear to see from the first fight. You have to roll the dice and unlock that part of your mind where you don’t care if it doesn’t work.

‘Joshua has to believe. No one can help him but himself once it gets to this point. Your team has prepared you for battle but when you jump in the ring the only person with the power to get the result is you. He needs to find that killer instinct, that savage mode in his mind. Flick that switch until after the fight then he can come back to his normal self.’

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