Anthony Joshua went into battle vs Otto Wallin last month with his fourth trainer in his last five fights during a period of big change in his elite heavyweight career.
Ben Davison, formerly mentor to one Tyson Fury, was heading up AJ’s corner for the first time and the results were spectacular as the two-time world champion hammered out a mightily impressive five-round victory.
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Wallin was taken apart by the British star and finally retired by his corner after a fifth round which saw the Swede’s nose broken by a brutal Joshua hook.
It appears that Davison may be here to stay for a while, after Joshua had worked with Robert Garcia for one fight and Derrick James for two following the end of his long association with Robert McCracken. Clearly AJ was impressed by his new tutor.
Joshua on Ben Davison impact
He explained: “Ben is a scholar of the game. When we spoke he saw what I’ve been trying to achieve in the business. You know when someone understands you, and a lightbulb comes on and you just finally get it – and that was it.
“He still tried to push me towards trying to achieve what I’m achieving. He hasn’t tried to change me, he’s still pushed me towards what I’m trying to achieve. But he’s done it in a way because he knows boxing, he knows what I’m trying to do, and he knows how to get it out of me.
“You’d have to ask him, but I don’t want him to say too much, because he’s quite articulate and would give away a lot as well. But he switched on a lightbulb for me this training camp.
“I’m not gonna say too much, but It’s been good and I appreciate my time for pushing me in that direction.”
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When told that the win over Wallin might be one of his best performances, Joshua paid tribute to his new corner for helping to make it happen.
“They work extremely hard, as I said the lightbulb switch went on. I’ve been searching and searching and searching, and I’m really impressed with what they brought to the table. As I’ve said, they’re very articulate, attention to detail, just like myself. I just want to do well and they helped me do well tonight.
“If you’re gonna call that my best performance, I wanna give thanks to the Ben Davison academy.”
Joshua (now 27-3) is expected to be out again in March, with the potential opponents including top IBF heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic, Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang and former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou.
