Garcia is a decorated coach who has worked with many world champions including Mikey Garcia, Nonito Donaire, Brandon Ríos and Marcos Maidana. He currently corners pound-for-pound star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.
Because of his many years of experience with talented fighters, he was brought in by Joshua after the Brit lost his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and was looking to correct mistakes and exact revenge in the rematch in 2022.
It didn’t work out like that and Joshua again lost on points over 12 rounds, despite a more competitive showing. He separated from Garcia and linked up with Derrick James.
After a couple of fights with James, Joshua hooked up with former Fury coach Ben Davison, who oversaw his last stoppage wins over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou and is now guiding him through camp ahead of his IBF world title shot with Daniel Dubois on September 21.
Should Joshua come through that, and if Fury wins his rematch with Usyk having lost their first fight for undisputed in May, the two British big men could come together in the ring next year.
Speaking to ESNEWS, Garcia was asked how he thinks his former fighter would fare against Fury should it happen, predicting a big finish.
“I think Joshua knocks him out.”
Although both winning would potentially set up an undisputed bout, Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh has recently stated that he wants to make AJ-Fury regardless of ‘The Gypsy King’s result against Usyk in the rematch.
Dubois is in fine form right now as he heads into his first IBF world title defence against fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua. His last two fights have been the best of his career after losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk rather set him back.
The first of his most recent wins saw him stop supersized American contender Jarrell Miller in the dying seconds of the 10th and final round back in December, while in June he stopped the big-hitting Fillip Hrgovic via cuts.
It was only a year ago that Dubois lost in his first world title tilt when he took on Usyk. Despite some success, he eventually succumbed to a right hand in the ninth round which led him to missing the count.
Speaking to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, Dubois was asked who he thought would win the Usyk-Fury rematch which takes place in December after the Ukrainian won the first fight to become undisputed in May.
Arguably Britain’s two best ever fighters in the division going against each other at the peak of their powers.
Alas, as is always the case in professional boxing, the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement and fans were left wanting.
Both Fury and Joshua went their separate ways. Joshua took on Oleksandr Usyk and lost his heavyweight title whilst the Gypsy King fought Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, much to the chagrin of boxing fans.
Then Fury embarked on a money-spinning bout with Francis Ngannou before losing his own heavyweight belts to Usyk in a unification matchup.
Many are awaiting a rematch with Usyk at this stage, however plans for a Fury/Joshua match are now also in the works.
Is it a fight coming too late?
Joshua, to his credit, has bounced back from two successive defeats to Usyk and has brought back some of his notorious knockout power, laying Francis Ngannou out in sensational fashion.
His next opponent is fellow British heavyweig
ht, Daniel Dubois, who perhaps came closest to defeating Usyk since he became the champion, dropping the Ukrainian with a perfect body shot, only for the referee to judge it to be a low-blow.
Yet, plans are in motion to have Fury meet Joshua in Saudi Arabia, and whilst boxing fans are being cheated out of a matchup between the two in their prime, there is still a lot of money on offer.
Saudi Arabia’s move into boxing has vastly increased the money on offer for fighters at the very top of the sport, and whilst it is true that the influence of this state-funded enterprise has brought more boxers to face their rivals at the right time, it also makes events seem bigger than they actually are.
Joshua and Fury would be one such instance. Nobody is really interested anymore, unless Joshua defeats Dubois comfortably and Fury can reclaim all the heavyweight belts in Riyadh in December when he takes on Usyk in a rematch.
Perhaps that will set the stage for a classic ‘Battle of Britain’ but even then, it seems like it will be a stretch.
Despite this, Turki Alalshikh of the General Entertainment Authority is adamant the fight will take place.
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It’s just a few short years ago that a meeting between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would have been the biggest heavyweight fight to ever take place.
Arguably Britain’s two best ever fighters in the division going against each other at the peak of their powers.
Alas, as is always the case in professional boxing, the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement and fans were left wanting.
Both Fury and Joshua went their separate ways. Joshua took on Oleksandr Usyk and lost his heavyweight title whilst the Gypsy King fought Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, much to the chagrin of boxing fans.
Then Fury embarked on a money-spinning bout with Francis Ngannou before losing his own heavyweight belts to Usyk in a unification matchup.
Many are awaiting a rematch with Usyk at this stage, however plans for a Fury/Joshua match are now also in the works.
Is it a fight coming too late?
Joshua, to his credit, has bounced back from two successive defeats to Usyk and has brought back some of his notorious knockout power, laying Francis Ngannou out in sensational fashion.
His next opponent is fellow British heavyweight, Daniel Dubois, who perhaps came closest to defeating Usyk since he became the champion, dropping the Ukrainian with a perfect body shot, only for the referee to judge it to be a low-blow.
Yet, plans are in motion to have Fury meet Joshua in Saudi Arabia, and whilst boxing fans are being cheated out of a matchup between the two in their prime, there is still a lot of money on offer.
Saudi Arabia’s move into boxing has vastly increased the money on offer for fighters at the very top of the sport, and whilst it is true that the influence of this state-funded enterprise has brought more boxers to face their rivals at the right time, it also makes events seem bigger than they actually are.
Joshua and Fury would be one such instance. Nobody is really interested anymore, unless Joshua defeats Dubois comfortably and Fury can reclaim all the heavyweight belts in Riyadh in December when he takes on Usyk in a rematch.
Perhaps that will set the stage for a classic ‘Battle of Britain’ but even then, it seems like it will be a stretch.
Despite this, Turki Alalshikh of the General Entertainment Authority is adamant the fight will take place.
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“”If Usyk wins, still I want to see Fury versus Joshua if they accept. I will not try to do the third fight [between Usyk and Joshua] before having Fury versus Joshua,” Alalshikh told talkSPORT.
“I think Joshua will win [against Dubois] but you don’t know. I picked Deontay Wilder against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, and he lost. This is boxing, especially the heavyweights.
“But I want to see Fury versus Joshua and the world wants to see Fury versus Joshua.”
He became a world title holder in 2016 and made successful defences against the likes of Dominic Breazeale, Alexandr Povetkin and Carlos Takam, unified against Wladimir Klitschko and Joseph Parker, then came unstuck against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 out in New York.
He avenged that loss later the same year but again lost his WBA, WBO and IBF belts on points over 12 rounds when taking on Oleksandr Uysk. The rematch went the same way in 2022 and since then Joshua has been rebuilding with four solid wins over Jermaine Franklin, Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and most recently a devastating knockout of Francis Ngannou back in March.
He now faces current IBF champion Daniel Dubois on September 21 for his chance to come a three-time world champion.
Ahead of that he has spoken to DAZN Boxing and played the winner stays on game.
It finds him picking Muhammad Ali over all of the proposed contemporary opponents including himself, Dubois, Fury, Usyk and legends like Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko and Lennox Lewis.
After winning gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Ali turned pro and beat the likes of Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Earnie Shavers over his 61-fight campaign. The former undisputed heavyweight champion was known as ‘The Greatest’ and left his mark not just on boxing but on history and politics.
Prince Naseem Hamed believes Tyson Fury is capable of avenging his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk and insists the two-time heavyweight world champion deserves more credit.
Fury will get the chance at revenge over Usyk when the pair meet again on December 21 in Saudi Arabia, seven months on from their first meeting which the Ukrainian won by split decision to claim the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Former world champion, Hamed has blasted critics of ‘The Gypsy King’ and feels his whole career is being overlooked after suffering what was a maiden professional defeat.
“Fury-Usyk, it’s gonna be a good fight,” the 50-year-old told IFLTV.
“I would love to see Tyson Fury step up to the plate in a way that he’s never ever done and bring all them belts back home.
“Nothing will make me happier than seeing that.
“I’ve always said why’s everybody just talking about his last fight?
“Why weren’t they talking about Tyson when he went and smashed up Wilder when nobody could do it.
“When Anthony Joshua wouldn’t fight him, why are we not talking about that?
“Why is everybody forgetting he demolished everybody in that division for all them years?
“Why are you only talking about Tyson Fury right now after this last fight?
“How can you take everything away what he’s done in the sport and base it on his last fight?”
Fury endured a disastrous and fight-altering ninth round and was given a standing eight count from the referee, after stumbling into the ropes, as a result of a barrage of punishing blows.
The 36-year-old will not have the opportunity to become undisputed champion on December 21, after Usyk relinquished the IBF crown, with Daniel Dubois elevated to full champion and defending that belt on September 21 against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium.
Hamed feels ‘The Gypsy King’ can reverse the result on December 21 and repeat the moments of success he had, in the rematch.
“He could [win the rematch] cause look, I seen him hitting Usyk with some serious uppercuts and hurting him and can hurt him so I feel he can.
“We got a lot of love for the Furys.
“He’s named his son [Prince], he’s said, after me.
He first came up against Joshua back in 2021 as a big underdog at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. It was a close 12-round fight that he ultimately won on points.
He repeated the feat in 2022 when the two met for a rematch out in Saudi Arabia, this time surviving heavy shots late on from AJ to once again take a decision on the scorecards. The Brit struggled to accept defeat in the ring afterwards but over the course of the next year or so got back to winning ways including with three stoppage victories.
They have led him to a fight with IBF ruler Daniel Dubois in September when he will attempt to become a world champion for the third time.
It was back in May that Usyk put his three world titles on the line against Fury, the then WBC champion. Once again the fight went the full 12 rounds and was a close contest with the Ukrainian just edging it come the final bell. That victory made him the undisputed heavyweight king, the first time anyone had held that honour since Lennox Lewis more than two decades ago.
Now Usyk must rematch Fury in December. Should he lose and Joshua win, there has been much speculation that ‘The Gypsy King’ and AJ could finally come to blows in the ring next year.
Boxing King Media asked the Ukrainian who he thought would win that fight should it happen and he went with the man in form.
“I guess Anthony, ‘AJ’. I guess ‘AJ’.”
Otto Wallin is another man who has faced both Brits and he recently sided with Fury.
It might be the fight of the year, and it has everything to offer. Two British heavyweights dance around the ring to score a knockout and secure a golden ticket to fight for the undisputed title next. What’s better than actually putting on such a show before their home crowd, too? So, the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois fight is the hype, and the fans are looking forward to some fireworks and some heavy blows, as they fight it out for the biggest prize of their careers. And it seems it might also surpass what Tyson Fury pulled off two years ago.
Joshua, 34, and Dubois, 26, will clash at Wembley Stadium on September 21 for the IBF heavyweight title and the massive Riyadh card has already swayed the fans. The developments are under process to accommodate as many fans as possible, as HE Turki Alalshikh has requested some additions to the iconic arena.
Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois set on course to shatter some records
TalkSports’ Michael Benson turned to his X handle and revealed the Joshua vs. Dubois fight could break the current attendance record at Wembley Stadium. Previously, Fury had gone up against Dillian Whyte in 2022 and attracted a crowd of 94,000, the largest ever for a combat event in the UK. He wrote, “Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois could break the British boxing attendance record at Wembley Stadium on Sept 21st as His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has said they’ve now applied to extend the capacity with the aim of surpassing the 94,000 who attended Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte.”
Interestingly, HE Turki Alalshikh, in a recent post on X, admitted to pleading with authorities to extend the capacity of Wembley and also hoped to pull up the largest crowd in the stadium’s history. Whether that comes true or not will depend on how the fans perceive the fight, and it seems they are swayed by it.
One fan called Joshua, the one-third face of boxing, and demanded respect for the British fighter. They declared, “Anthony Joshua is 1/3 face’s of boxing! Put some respect on his name.” While Canelo Alvarez lays claim to the current face of boxing, the other part half is clearly Gervonta Davis.
A user criticized ‘AJ’ for cherrypicking an opponent and believed the last worthy opponent he faced was Oleksandr Usyk. Predicting a knockout, they argued, “The last good opponent Joshua had was Usyk smh AJ stops Dubois in 7.” Interestingly, after suffering a defeat from the Ukrainian fighter for a second time in 2022, Joshua is on an exciting 4-0 run.
Froch and Joshua were Olympic teammates but have since lost their close bond. Joshua recently called Froch a “p****y” in an interview and Froch went on to leak their WhatsApp DMs as well. Someone referenced the recent beef between Carl Froch and Joshua, at 28-3. They announced, “Carl froch punching air rn.” The comment was also in reference to Carl Froch’s long-standing record of 80,000 spectators at Wembley which he held in 2014 in a fight against George Groves, which has since been broken multiple times by both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
A comment denied accepting anything from HE Turki Alalshikh. The comment read, “We don’t believe nothing turki says about a sell out 😂😂.” The comment could be a jibe at Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov, where the Saudi adviser claimed to be selling out the arena, but later some contested that promoters distributed free tickets to fill the arena.
Lastly, one fan threw shade on Joshua’s opponent and praised AJ for his popularity and for carrying on promotional duties. They insisted, “AJ be carrying these unmarketable boxers on his back 😂.” Joshua has sold over 1 million PPV buys in his fights with Andy Ruiz and Wladimir Klitschko. He also sold almost 700,000 PPVs when he fought Francis Ngannou earlier this year. It remains to be seen whether he can replicate similar success when he fights Dubois.
What do you make of this development regarding Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois? Do you believe the fight will shatter attendance records on September 21? Let us know in the comments below.
PFL star and former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, has spoken about the potential of facing his former boxing opponents, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in MMA.
Despite Ngannou making the switch over to boxing to face two of the best heavyweights in the world in his first two fights, ‘The Predator’ doesn’t seem confident that the British heavyweight boxing stars, Fury and Joshua, will reciprocate what he did and come into a different sport to face him.
Last year, former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou, made his boxing debut in a huge super-fight against Fury. After losing a very close decision to ‘The Gypsy King,’ which many people actually thought Ngannou won, the Cameroonian ecured himself another huge boxing bout against Joshua just five months later. The fight against Josua was very different for Ngannou, as he got completely flatlined inside two rounds and put out cold.
Despite taking a brutal KO loss, the boxing world heaped praise on Ngannou for stepping into the ring against two of the best and most dominant heavyweight boxers in his first two professional fights.
When asked whether or not the British heavyweight boxing stars would do something similar to Ngannou and make a move over to MMA to face him, ‘The Predator’ did not seem confident that could happen as it is a lot more difficult to learn all aspects of martial arts as opposed to the one he had to, which was just solely boxing. Speaking to MMA journalist, John Morgan at last week’s PFL DC media scrum, Ngannou said the following:
“They don’t want that smoke. Nobody wants that, and I wouldn’t want it either. I don’t blame them. There is a lot of elements in MMA that’s way complicated for boxers to crossover than for MMA fighters to crossover to boxing. I need to see them do some practice. Maybe one of them have the wrestling skill. You don’t of the grappling skill. We need to see.”
Despite moves to MMA for both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua being extremely unlikely, both men have shown interest and teased moves to MMA in the past.
Just after his brutal KO victory over Francis Ngannou earlier this year, ‘AJ’ posted training footage on social media of him kicking and kneeing pads which led to many people speculating he could be teasing a move over to MMA.
As for Fury, he has also shown interest in competing in MMA in the past. In recent years, ‘The Gypsy King’ has also been pictured training with well-known MMA fighters, Darren Till and Nick Diaz, and has also voiced the opinion that due to his bare-knuckle past, he could transition well to MMA.
Matchroom founder Barry Hearn tells Sky Sports that his company has a responsibility to deliver a big British fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury — who is currently scheduled to rematch Oleksandr Usyk while Joshua is lined up to face Daniel Dubois. But while Fury is focused on Usyk, Hearn says Joshua also has an eye on the Ukrainian who beat him in back to back fights between 2021-2022.
“He wants to beat Usyk,” Hearn said. “Because the first fight he had with Usyk, frankly he came out second best. He went away, he regrouped, he learned, he studied and he still got beat in the second fight. That’s why he got so disappointed in the second fight.”
Hearn would continue by characterizing Joshua as a special type of athlete who is motivated by much more than money, and it’s his competitive spirit that drives him to try to reach boxing’s mountaintop once again.
“These people want to win and they want a legacy. I don’t think Anthony Joshua will sleep at night until he is unified.”
Joshua, however, mustn’t get distracted from the task at hand as a loss to Dubois could likely ruin the prospects for him getting the fights he’s looking towards. Joshua and Dubios will go head-to-head on September 21 at Wembley Stadium while Fury and Usyk rematch in December, and should everything go according to Matchroom’s plans, there will be another big fight for Joshua to come thereafter.
