Anthony Joshua wants to 'hurt' Oleksandr Usyk as Garcia speaks out after AJ torn apart

Anthony Joshua's new trainer Robert Garcia has revealed that the Brit has developed a genuine spiteful streak and wants to hurt everyone put in front of him in sparring. Joshua rematches Oleksandr Usyk on August 20 at the Jeddah Superdome, Saudi Arabia.

In September, 'AJ' dropped his WBA (super), IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles to the Ukrainian on home soil. At the time, he was criticised massively for not using his size and strength enough and is expected to adopt a more aggressive approach for their second bout.

Now, Garcia has given an update on how Joshua is looking in preparations for the Saudi showdown - and has confirmed that the Watford powerhouse has upped his intensity after the Brit was heavily criticised by both Carl Froch - who said he needed a 'brain transplant' to win - and Teddy Atlas.

"You know what? I think he wasn't thinking and prepared to win the fight. From what he told me, he was just thinking of going all 12 rounds. He never thought, 'I got to win the fight. I just need to go 12 rounds.' So that makes a big difference," Garcia told Seconds Out.

"Now, he's thinking of winning and thinking of hurting somebody. That's the most important thing. He's got to be confident with his team. Week by week, we see a lot of improvement in Anthony Joshua. He's going to get better and better, so by the time the fight comes, he's going to be 100 per cent ready.

"He's got to be with a team that wants him to win, wants him to perform, and wants him to be a little bit tougher. I think that's what I bring in. Me and Angel Fernandez are pushing him to be aggressive, to be a mean guy in the ring, to hurt anyone in front of him. He's been doing that lately, and I'm very happy and pleased with how things are going."

Joshua