By Keith Idec

Trainers frequently take the fall for fighters that suffer upsets.

Loyalty and appreciation prevented Anthony Joshua from even considering firing longtime trainer Rob McCracken. The British superstar is, however, going to add one experienced person or more to his team as he prepares to put together a training camp for his heavyweight championship rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.

“Rob McCracken is more to me than just a trainer,” Joshua told Sky Sports’ Adam Smith during an interview that aired Tuesday in the United Kingdom. “Rob McCracken is like a man who’s helped me as a person. And I feel like he’s really gonna take me on to be a better person in life. And as a trainer, he’s taken me from a novice, to the Olympics, to world champion. And I feel like there’s options. One, keep it as it is. Two, add to what we already have. Or three, get rid of Rob and completely change. And I think number three’s silly. Number one, we’re already doing it now. Number two, to add to what we have, I feel like it can only make us a better and stronger team.”

The 29-year-old Joshua also revealed that the date and site of his rematch with Ruiz will be announced soon.

Meanwhile, Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) and McCracken are deciding who they’ll add to Joshua’s team. Together they’ll welcome advice as they try to figure out how to beat Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), who dropped Joshua four times on his way to stopping the former champion in the seventh round June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“Rob tells me what he wants,” Joshua said. “As well, I tell him what I want. We’re still open. You know, I’ve gotta reach out to George Foreman, still. He’s made it vocal that he wants to help, and all help right now is needed. I need to be around as much boxing people as possible, because right now I need to soak in the experience and knowledge, gotta watch the documentaries and just soak in the boxing environment again and get that passion back, and realize that I’m not interested in this fight or that fight. The only fighter I’m interested in right now is Ruiz, and beating him good, so I can get those belts back.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.