ANTHONY JOSHUA’s former coach has tipped him to upset Oleksandr Usyk in a trilogy fight – despite their apparent war of words.

Joshua’s reign as unified heavyweight champion came to an end at the hands of the undefeated Ukranian in September 2021 as he was outfoxed in their Tottenham tussle.

Anthony Joshua was dethroned by Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021Credit: GETTY

The Watford warrior came up short against the Ukrainian in their rematch 11 months laterCredit: GETTY

AJ’s former coach Robert Garcia reckons he could win a trilogy fight against the southpawCredit: GETTY

AJ failed to exact his revenge in their Riyadh rumble rematch 11 months later, suffering a second consecutive points defeat.

A third fight could be on the cards should Usyk beat Tyson Fury and Joshua win the IBF title, which is expected to become vacant after next month’s eagerly-anticipated undisputed title fight.

And Robert Garcia – who failed to guide AJ to victory at the second time of asking against Usyk – can foresee the Watford warrior getting the job done the third time around.

In an interview with Boxing Social, Garcia said of AJ: “He is the second most-talented fighter in the [heavyweight] division.

“So much potential, so big, so strong, but he needed that confidence and I think that last fight [against Otto Wallin] showed him that he belongs up there.

“Even though he has lost to Usyk, he has got to think that he is the best.

“The way he fought, I wouldn’t be surprised if he beat Usyk in a third fight because he fought good.”

Joshua, 34, has breathed new life into his career with consecutive wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.

Garcia said of Joshua’s recent run: “I think that activity was the main thing, I’m glad they did [increase] it.

“That was the one thing that Rudy Hernandez and myself told him, after the fight against Usyk in the locker room, I told everybody to keep him active, fight him [Joshua] again right away and they did.

“Three times [he fought] this year, that was the best thing that they could have done for him.”

Garcia’s glowing comments come as a surprise as the pair have had a public back-and-forth after the American questioned AJ’s training set-up.

Joshua didn’t take kindly to the comments, saying ahead of his clash with Franklin: “Garcia is the first one to say the things he said.

“And I didn’t like that, I found it weird. I am not perfect.

“Trust me, I do have tough days in camp, but he went and pointed those things out – out of all the things we did in training camp.”

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua will be back in action on March 9, throwing down with former UFC king Francis Ngannou in a Saudi showdown.