ANTHONY JOSHUA has singled out Carl Froch’s NOSE as the reason he left former trainer Rob McCracken.
AJ ditched his old Team GB coach following his first unanimous points decision defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
The Watford warrior then entrusted his career to Robert Garcia for his Usyk rematch, only to lose a second time.
He has since moved to Derrick James in a bid to become a three-time world champion.
His first fight under James saw him comfortably beat Jermaine Franklin, with Joshua now in line for a rematch against Dillian Whyte on August 12 at the O2 Arena.
But now the 33-year-old has opened up on his split with McCracken, and explained why he believes his decision to part ways was correct.
READ MORE IN BOXING
Speaking to Boxing News, Joshua said: “Rob McCracken’s a really good coach, the only thing I’d say is look at Carl Froch’s nose. He just didn’t teach me defence.
“And in heavyweight boxing, the level of competition I was facing at that stage of my career, I was getting hit way too much with clean shots.
“I was sparring Solomon Dacres… the tall six foot five guy, in Miami for [Andy] Ruiz, who’s five foot.
“Rob was in Japan for the Olympics. He only came back seven weeks before it. I just know it’s not good enough for where I’m at.
Most read in Boxing
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
“Derrick reminds me of Rob but a lot more invested… Rob was too committed to the Olympic team, not pros.
“I gave Rob my best years, now I’ve got to dig deep to get them back.”
AJ has previously insisted he split with McCracken on amicable terms.
However, retired super-middleweight champion Froch gave his take on the split in June on his Froch on Fighting YouTube channel.
The 46-year-old said: “I would say he should have stayed with Rob McCracken and sorted out any beef they had. I don’t think AJ should have left him.
“I think that if he would have stayed with Rob McCracken and listened to him, that’s the key difference here, I used to listen to Rob and when he told me something or gave me any advice, I did it without question.
“Now, I don’t think that was happening with AJ, because he always questions things, he is quite an inquisitive guy.
“He lost twice to Usyk, he’s a great fighter, there’s no shame in losing to him.
“I just think that the tactics and the way that he went about the rematch, I think that if he was with Rob McCracken, and he would have listened to him and his experience, and executed a game plan, then the result could have been different.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
