Anthony Joshua said he should have retained Robert Garcia, the trainer who helped Andy Ruiz Jr win over Brits.

THE trainer who led Andy Ruiz Jr to victory over Anthony Joshua claimed the British star should have stayed with coach Robert Garcia.

AJ hired Garcia after defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021, parting with long-time cornerman Rob McCracken.

But after losing in his Saudi Arabia rematch to Usyk last August, Joshua again went back to the drawing board.

And ahead of his proposed return fight on April 1, he has linked up with trainer of the year candidate Derrick James in Texas.

Although Manny Robles – who guided Ruiz in both his win and loss over AJ in 2019 – believes Garcia should have been given more time.

Robles told Fight Hub:“When Anthony Joshua was with Robert, Robert couldn’t have had it any harder facing Usyk, facing one of the top fighters in the heavyweight division. So he didn’t have it easy.

“So, he didn’t have time to implement his style on Joshua because it was too fast, too soon, and too quick.

“On the other hand, with this new coach, he’s going to potentially have a tune-up fight.

“It’s not going to be as hard as a fight with Usyk. Although there’s no such thing as a tune-up fight, really, or an easy fight, if you will.

“He didn’t have it easy for Robert. It would have been nice for Joshua to stick with Robert for another fight or so, and by the way, Joshua showed a lot in that second fight against Usyk.

“He went to the body, which is something he’s not accustomed to doing. He did better.

“He fought a better fight the second time around. Unfortunately, he came up short, but it was a lot closer than the first fight.”

Joshua, 33, is in need of a confidence-building win after consecutive defeat to pound-for-pound star Usyk, 36.

And Jermaine Franklin, 29, is set to be his next opponent, despite a narrow loss to Dillian Whyte, 34, in November.

Robles believes Garcia would have benefitted from a similar type of bout but backed AJ’s decision to hire James.

He said: “I don’t know what they’re thinking, but I would stick with Robert.

“I would stick with Robert and give him an opportunity to implement his style, and you might see a bigger change in Joshua.

“Derrick James is a great trainer, and now he’s got to start all over again. He’s a great coach, and he’s proved it time and time again.

“As a matter of fact, in my humble opinion, he should have been trainer of the year. Again, he came up short.

“He’s got Charlo, and he’s got Errol Spence, Frank Martin. They didn’t give it to him but well deserved.

“Derrick James is a great trainer, but when you keep jumping from one coach to another, you got to start all over again. At this level, I don’t know.”