Anthony Joshua appears to be a fighter reborn under the tutelage of new trainer Ben Davison, and he’s explained the biggest reason why their partnership is ‘clicking’.
AJ had Davison heading up his corner for the first time last December when he blasted out Sweden’s Otto Wallin after five one-sided rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
On Friday night in the same city, Joshua faces an even sterner foe in the shape of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou – a giant of a man who took Tyson Fury right to the brink on his pro boxing debut last October.
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There is supreme confidence in Joshua though as he heads into fight week, balanced of course by the knowledge that he must bring his ‘A game’ for a showdown laced with jeopardy.
Joshua (27-3) appeared to be back to his best against Wallin, throwing crisp punches with bad intentions and totally confident in the gameplan he and Davison had devised. So why is the relationship working so well?
Joshua on Ben Davison
He told Matchroom’s YouTube channel: “Belief. You believe in something. And I listened. I meet a lot of people that want advice but I know they don’t believe in what I’m saying, because they don’t believe in themselves probably. I believe in Ben, so what he is saying is just clicking.”
Davison is the third trainer Joshua has worked with since losing his heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021. But it appears he will stick – and Joshua has no doubt about what he brings to the table. He values the voice in the corner highly.
“Trainers make the fighter. Without a shadow of a doubt. You can’t do it by yourself. You can, but you can’t do it for a long time. Every good fighter has had a great trainer. Well the ones that I admire anyway.
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“Even though people will say, ‘oh he trained himself half of the time’, that’s rubbish. Training isn’t just like throw a jab here and throw a jab there, it’s also like your approach, the gems and the wisdom that you get. The environment that a trainer creates. It’s more than just a trainer showing you how to throw a punch. It’s the mindset it takes to land that punch, and if it doesn’t land what happens when it doesn’t land. It’s all of that.
“Trainers are more than just someone who teaches you how to throw a right hand.”
Joshua on Derrick James
Trainer worked with Texas-based Derrick James for his first two bouts of 2023 – a decision win over Jermaine Franklin and a knockout of Robert Helenius. Joshua says their relationship is still good, and that James understands the rationale behind the split.
“He’s cool. That’s my guy if I’m in the States. I don’t just want to train for the fight. I want to continue training. I spoke to Derrick and Derrick rates Ben a lot. He wants to make sure I’m in safe hands. He was like, ‘yeah he’s a very good coach, I’m glad you’re in safe hands’. I feel like I’m in safe hands as well. The relationship is still good. But I’m going to be based in the UK.”
