By Allan Fox: Anthony Joshua may need to consider dumping his longtime trainer Rob McCracken to get a new coach that can help him defeat Oleksandr Usyk for their rematch in early 2022.
As we saw last Saturday, the former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) looked like a fractured shell of the fighter he was in the past when he was beating guys like Wladimir Klitschko and Dillian Whyte.
Joshua, 31, and his promoter Eddie Hearn haven’t said anything about replacing McCracken or adding an additional strategy coach to the team.
At this point, given that Joshua has made up his mind that he wants to avenge his loss to Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) in an immediate rematch, it would be something to consider in removing McCracken or adding a second coach.
AJ looked totally shell-shocked in his fight with Usyk, and he hasn’t looked confident since losing to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. Whether a new voice in Joshua’s corner can return that confidence he once had is an open question.
Joshua a shell of former self since loss to Ruiz
“In my mind, we still saw some ripple effects from the knockout to Andy Ruiz back in 2019. I had Tyson Fury on my podcast back last week,” said Chris Mannix to Jabs with Mannix and Mora on DAZN.
“One thing he [Fury] said to me about the Joshua – Usyk fight was, Joshua can win, but he’s got to take the fight to Usyk.
“To take the fight to Usyk, you’ve got to have some big; you know what. He didn’t believe that Joshua didn’t have it anymore, not after that win over Andy Ruiz.
“Watching that fight, he was kind of fight. Joshua was not willing to engage, and he wasn’t willing to engage as we’ve seen him do in years past because there was a part of him, maybe in the back of his mind that remembers the knockout loss to Ruiz, that didn’t want to get clipped, that wanted to fight more carefully in this fight.
“We saw shades of that in the rematch with Ruiz. We didn’t see enough because Ruiz came in out of shape and wasn’t the fighter he was the first time around.
“And we saw some shades of that in the fight with Kubrat Pulev, but Pulev was well past his prime and didn’t have much punch resistance of his own.
“Against an in his prime elite heavyweight Anthony Joshua fought scared, and I know he doesn’t have the skills to fight scared.
“If he’s going to fight someone as skills as Usyk, you’ve got to be willing to be physical with Usyk. To be physical, you’ve got to take some chances in the ring. Joshua, to me, didn’t look like a fighter that wanted to take chances anymore.
“How does a guy get over it because it has happened before,” said Mannix in how Joshua can come back from this loss.
“Lennox Lewis was knocked out by Hasim Rahman, and he got it back. Wladimir Klitschko was knocked out by Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, and he got it back.
“How does Anthony Joshua get that mental toughness back? Anthony Joshua knocked out Wladimir Klitschko, he knocked out Dillian Whyte, and he has knockout power at the highest level.
“It does not matter if you’re not willing to mix it up and engage on it,” said Mannix.
Mentally, Joshua has looked timid in his three fights since his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, and that’s probably not going to change unless he gets help with a new coach.
Joshua looks like he doesn’t trust his chin or his stamina to hold up for him in a fight, and he’s not going to beat Usyk in the rematch with his lack of confidence.
Should Joshua DUMP trainer Rob McCracken?
“I know you were loath to change a trainer, but this is now Anthony Joshua’s second loss in his last four fights. Is it time to make a change with Rob McCracken?
“This is what happens when a champion gets beat up, clipped, and embarrassed. He loses that hunger; he loses that willingness to lay it all on the line. You saw that in Anthony Joshua’s eyes,” said Sergio Mora in analyzing what went wrong for AJ against Usyk.
“You know how adamant I am about changing trainers, especially at the top level when you’ve garnered and gathered so much success with one and one voice, and you went all the way to the top to the amateurs to the pros.
“And you don’t need that, but you should add to it. I think he [Joshua] needs a new voice in the corner,” said Mora about his belief that Joshua should stick with McCracken.
“He needs a new strategist; that’s what it is, not a new trainer. And he has a hell of a trainer in Rob McCracken. He just needs a new voice, a new outlook, and a new strategist.
“There’s a strategist that decides how to beat this man to give that strategy to the trainer that knows this boxer the best, and they utilize what two boxing brains bring to the ring.
“I think that’s what he needs. He [Joshua] needs someone that can come with a strategy, a game plan, and get together to utilize this information and try and bring it to fruition in the ring. I don’t think a new trainer is the trick. Just bring in a new voice,” said Mora about Joshua.
“No, I think we’re past that. He [Joshua] did bring in other voices after the loss to Andy Ruiz Jr,” said Mannix about Joshua bringing in help after being stopped by Ruiz in June 2019.
“That was effective. He did win the rematch, so credit there. But what I saw against Oleksandr Usyk was a fighter that had a fairly bizarre strategy.
“I mean, he came in at one of the highest weights of his career. Why would you do that?” said Mannix about Joshua trimming down to 240 lbs for the Usyk clash. “Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of your size in the ring? I put some of that on your trainer.”
The logical move for Joshua is to replace McCracken with a top coach who has been there before and can help revitalize his career.
Joshua can always come back to McCracken later if he can turn things around, but it might not be brilliant for him to do so. AJ has the money and the popularity to get any trainer in the game to help him.
Promoter Eddie Hearn should realize after watching Joshua lose two out of his last four fights that it’s time for drastic measures, which means throwing McCracken overboard.
Why did Joshua try and outbox Usyk?
“He [Joshua] tried to outbox one of the best boxers on the planet, a top 5 pound-for-pound guy [Usyk],” said Mannix. “Why would that be your strategy? I think it’s time for Anthony Joshua, at 31-years-old to seek a new man or woman, frankly in his corner.
“Rob McCracken has done a great job, gotten him to the highest level, but trainer changes happen, and they’re effective all the time. Lennox Lewis didn’t become a Hall of Famer until he added Emanuel Steward.
“Wladimir Klitschko, his career was on life support before he added Emanuel Steward. If you want to go to the lower rank, look at what Miguel Cotto was able to do when he added Freddie Roach to his team later in his career. It’s an effective strategy.
“It works when you have voices in your corner. I think at this stage, Joshua needs a new voice. Not only that, he needs a new everything. I think Joshua needs to get out of that Olympic training center he works out at.
“He needs to stop being so comfortable in his surroundings. He needs to shake things up. Go into Europe, into Austria, where Wladimir used to train, go to the U.S, and train in Colorado Springs or in Big Bear.
“I think he needs to do something radically different because that version of Anthony Joshua ain’t beating this version of Oleksandr Usyk,” said Mannix.
“Nonsense, you want him [Joshua] to be like Rocky in Rocky 4 and go to the Alps and start training like a caveman and find his eye of the tiger?” said Mora about Joshua. “No, it’s not going to happen. He can stay exactly where he is but bring a new voice. The hunger comes from being beat,” said Mora.
You have to put the blame on McCracken’s shoulders for the game plan that Joshua used against Usyk. If McCracken wasn’t on board with that plan, he should have said something during the fight with Usyk to help Joshua turn things around when he fell behind early.