Anthony Joshua points to Carl Froch’s NOSE as the reason for his break-up with Rob McCracken, insisting his former coach ‘didn’t teach me defence’ prior to first Oleksandr Usyk loss
- Froch worked with McCracken in his career and was famous for a strong chin
- Joshua is now working with Derrick James, winning his first bout with the coach
- He will face Dillion Whyte in August as he looks to climb the heavyweight ladder
Anthony Joshua has criticised former coach Rob McCracken for failing to teach him defence following the duo’s split after the Brit’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021.
The two parted ways following the loss, with a ‘massive breakdown’ in Joshua’s camp cited for a reason for the split.
They were long-term friends and partners but Joshua reshuffled his staff following the defeat to the Ukrainian, employing Robert Garcia for the rematch, but losing again.
He has now turned to Derrick James in a bid to climb the ladder to become a world champion again, beating Jermaine Franklin in his first fight with James and lining up a match with fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.
Joshua’s split with McCracken was highly publicised at the time, and, speaking to Boxing News, the two-time world champion pointed to Carl Froch as one of the reasons for their separation.
Anthony Joshua (right) has criticised former coach Rob McCracken (left) for failing to teach him defence
Joshua split with McCracken following his first defeat to Oleksandr Usyk (left) in 2021
Joshua points to Carl Froch’s (centre) nose as an example of the lack of defence of McCracken’s fighters
‘Rob McCracken’s a really good coach, the only thing I’d say is look at Carl Froch’s nose,’ Joshua began. ‘He just didn’t teach me defence.
‘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.
‘I gave Rob my best years, now I’ve got to dig deep to get them back.’
Froch, a former world champion himself, worked with McCracken duing his illustrious career at the top of the game before his retirement.
Though the now-46-year-old boasted a near-spotless record throughout his career, he was known for having a strong chin, being able to take a series of shots before hitting the canvas.
The two had been long-term partners but Joshua said the coach’s commitment to his professional fighters was ‘not good enough’
Joshua is now working with Derrick James (left) in the build-up to his fight with Dillion Whyte
The former middleweight spoke on the split on his Froch On Fighting YouTube channel in June, and suggested Joshua and McCracken should have stayed together and sorted out their differences.
‘I think that if he [Joshua] 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,’ Froch said.
‘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.’
