Robert Garcia has refused to back down in his criticism of Anthony Joshua despite facing backlash for accusing him of having a weak mentality.
The 48-year-old coach claimed that the former world champion was ‘mentally defeated’ against Oleksandr Usyk.
He also argued that Usyk was ‘mentally stronger’, which provoked a strong reaction from Joshua.
Fans of the Brit were also shocked by his comments.
However, the out-of-work trainer has now insisted that he didn’t say anything wrong as many others felt the same way after the defeat.
Anthony Joshua news – Robert Garcia repeats previous criticism
Joshua was left feeling frustrated after Usyk outboxed him once again during their rematch in Saudi Arabia last August.
The Ukrainian then went on to win the fight via split decision.
Garcia told iD Boxing: “Obviously a fighter in the ring is going to be challenged by what people say after the fight.
“Just because I was his trainer, doesn’t mean I’m going to lie about it. I wasn’t the only one that said that – he should be mad and frustrated at the whole world – because everybody said the same thing.
“When you have a fighter who does so good in one round, you’re almost about to stop your opponent, it makes a big difference when the next round is totally different. There was a lot to be said by so many boxing experts because I’m not the only one who said that.
“And then what happened after the fight when he grabbed the mic and all that I think that was a lot of frustration. I think that had a lot to do with knowing he was so close and he let it go. Maybe it was a little bit of embarrassment because that reaction wasn’t the right reaction that a fighter normally takes.
“So it wasn’t just me that said he was frustrated and he could be a little ashamed of his performance but at the end I know that the work that me and Angel Fernandes did wasn’t bad either. It could have been better, honestly, it could have been better. But nobody knows everything that went through training camp and I’m not going to mention it either.
“But we all know everything that went through training camp. We all know everything that went on sparring days. We all know the way the training camp went.
“But that was then. Now I think he’s in a great position, in a great place, in a great training camp. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be in great shape and he’s going to get a good solid win for his next fight to be against a big name.”
Joshua is set to face Jermaine Franklin in London on April 1 and has been linked to a number of fights, including Deontay Wilder.
He looks in incredible shape ahead of his return to the ring.
