Robert Garcia is salivating at the thought of adding another upset special to his résumé.

The well-regarded Mexican American trainer from Riverside, California, recently linked up with former heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua to help prepare the Londoner for his upcoming rematch against WBO, WBA, and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk later this summer.

The fight is expected to land at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia on July 23, according to a report by Sky Sports.  

Garcia, a former fighter himself, was among a shortlist of top American trainers that Joshua visited last year after he lost to his Ukrainian foe on points in their first meeting in September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Garcia joins a training team that includes Joshua’s longtime assistant Angel Fernandez. A representative of Joshua’s team insisted that Garica and Fernandez will both assume head training duties.

In a recent interview, Garcia, 47, described the underdog aspect as a motivating factor for him in accepting the assignment. Garcia was reminded of some of his past accomplishments, including, most famously, in 2013, when his charge Marcos Maidana stunned Adrien Broner, defeating him on points. Garcia hopes to accomplish a similar feat with Joshua.

“I love that challenge,” Garcia told Little Giant Boxing. “Especially coming off a loss and getting the rematch against a guy that beat him. It’s a great challenge for me. I understand it’s not going to be easy. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get Anthony to become champion again.

“That’s the thing that motivates me the most: after coming off a loss where people don’t expect him to win. Those are the challenges that I love. Like when Maidana beat Broner or Abner Mares beat [Jesus] Cuellar or Steve Luevano who travelled to London to fight Nicky Cook and knocked him out in the 11th round where nobody expected that to happen.”

Garcia, an offensive-minded tactician who is better known for his work with fighters in the lighter weight classes, noted that he is well aware that Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) was outgunned against the southpaw Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) last year.

“Those are the challenges that I like and right now Anthony Joshua is that challenge,” Garcia said. “He lost. He didn’t take a beating. He lost a decision. But he lost. Clearly lost. Now to pull off the win it would be huge for me, man. It would be huge for me as a trainer having the heavyweight champion of the world. Can’t get any better than that.”

Garcia currently trains Mikey Garcia, Jesse Rodriguez, Joshua Franco, and Jose Ramirez, among others.