Anthony Joshua's Trainer Laments Fighter Not Pressuring Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk again came out victorious in the rematch against heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua after dominating him in a strong showing that led to a split decision victory.

In the ninth round though, Joshua seemed to have momentum fully on his side as he was close to putting Usyk on the canvas thanks to his constant barrage of punches.

Usyk went on to survive the onslaught and secure the win in the championship rounds.

Robert Garcia, Joshua's new coach, had an interview with Izquierdazo recently and felt that Joshua should have done it way earlier than round nine.

"Joshua should have started his pressure earlier. In round nine we put pressure on Usyk, and almost closed the fight when he started to punch Usyk's body more emphatically and began to press him more," Garcia said.

"He was using his punches to keep Usyk at a distance, his jab, his reach. But I would have liked him to throw his jab with more power. Sometimes he was just using his jab to keep Usyk at a distance. But there were many opportunities where the jab could have been more solid, but it wasn't that way."

Joshua, 32, hung tough with Usyk for the better part of their 12-round affair and it was apparent in the middle rounds that Usyk had just been the more refined, more wanting fighter.

That led to "AJ" pouring it on against Usyk, but it was just too late to mount any sort of meaningful comeback as the Ukrainian fighter remained calm when walking back to his corner ahead of round 10.

"The last three rounds changed the fight's outcome. I think we were doing well, until round ten, when everything changed in the fight. The last three rounds defined the fight, but in round nine, we were close to winning by knockout," Garcia later added.

Usyk, 35, has gotten the better of Joshua in their last two encounters and is in line for a massive marquee match against heavyweight great Tyson Fury for the only title in the division that is not in his collection yet: the WBC heavyweight championship.

ESPN reported that Fury's promoter Frank Warren suggested a date of December 17 in Saudi Arabia is unlikely to happen and that the second or third Saturday of February could play host to Usyk versus Fury.

For Joshua, it is currently unknown who he will share the ring with soon, but fans have floated the idea of him fighting Deontay Wilder who lost his own trilogy fight with Fury.

There are other options ahead for the former Olympic gold medalist and updates regarding his career is expected to come out in the following months.