Robert Garcia turned down the opportunity to appear on a Netflix documentary about the career of heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
The decorated trainer was in the corner for Joshua just once, his split-decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch back in 2022. Following the defeat, Garcia and Joshua went their separate ways and Joshua has since hired multiple trainers. His most recent, Iegor Golub, was in the corner for Joshua’s second round stoppage victory over Kristian Prenga on July 25. Despite an emphatic finish, Joshua has been hit with criticism over his punch resistance after the heavyweight was dropped twice in the opener.
The contest served as a warm-up for a long overdue showdown with Tyson Fury later this year, but there are now questions if Joshua should even be in a ring again.
Garcia appeared on Thursday’s episode of BoxingScene Today alongside host Chris Algieri and admitted although he was willing his former fighter to win after being downed, a fight with Fury could be dangerous.
“I know him personally, I spent four months living with him,” Garcia told Algieri. “I think sometimes, promoters and including us as fans, we’re screaming at the TV and hoping he comes back, which he did. Sometimes it might be a bad thing for promoters and fans and everybody, all of us pushing for him to go through that round so he could get that win, because whenever he steps into another fight, it could be dangerous.”
Garcia then revealed that he had turned down a request from Netflix to star in a documentary about Joshua’s career.
“They wanted to fly me to London so I could sit down for a couple of days and talk to them about the months that I spent with him,” he explained. “I denied that. They actually told me they would fly down to California. I denied it because I don’t want to be part of this, because I’m not gonna lie either. I’m not gonna lie to nobody. I’d rather stay quiet because at the end, honestly… we were cheering for him to win because we want to see him against Fury. And that’s the fight that’s happening.
“Fury is also maybe not as young, but yeah, two dangerous guys. I still want to see it. It’s a competitive fight. I think it’s gonna be a good fight. But sometimes, cheering for this guy to get up and pull off the win. Sometimes it could be dangerous with what’s coming after that. So we want him to get past this fight so he can win.”
Despite Garcia turning down Netflix’s request he made it clear that it was nothing personal and that he is still an admirer of Joshua.
“He’s also a great person, I don’t wish him bad,” said Garcia. “I would love to see him win. I lived with him for four months, and as a person, he’s a great person. So I’ll be cheering for him. I’ve never met Tyson Fury, he’s also funny from what I see, but I’m gonna be cheering for AJ
“But sometimes it could be dangerous.”
