Ben Davison is again the man of the moment in boxing’s heavyweight division and few people have a better handle on Britain’s two elite big men.
Davison was the man in Tyson Fury’s corner when he made that incredible comeback from serious mental health issues and weighing 400lbs, and now he is set to mastermind Anthony Joshua’s bid to return to world title relevance.
Fury of course struggled badly last time out against professional boxing novice Francis Ngannou back in October – being knocked down before eking out a disputed split decision victory.
Davison on Fury vs Ngannou
Davison is hugely respectful of ‘The Gypsy King’ – the man and the boxer – so he when asked about what went wrong, he provided a very measured response. But nevertheless, insightful.
He told Queensberry Promotions (watch the full interview at the bottom of this page): “I know Tyson, obviously, I’ve worked with him, he’s a very professional athlete, he takes his job very seriously, he would have prepared properly for Ngannou.
“Now mentally, sometimes it’s hard to put yourself in a position where you fully have that respect for the opponent that you should, even though you’re trying to do all the right things that you should do, sometimes that’s not there.
“Only he can answer those questions, but I think Ngannou shocked all of us and I think he’s a very very credible opponent.”
While Ngannou almost proved to be Fury’s Kryptonite, Joshua already appears to have his in the shape of the brilliant Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. AJ lost twice to Usyk in world title matches in 2021 and 2022.
Barring a purple patch for Joshua in the second half of the rematch, Usyk held all the aces as he boxed and fought brilliantly to claim two decision wins. The defeats also provided another narrative – that AJ struggles with southpaws.
Joshua vs Ngannou 3?
Davison though does not believe the doomsayers for one minute – in fact he would relish the opportunity to help Joshua put things right by claiming a win over the unbeaten Usyk.
“I’d love the Usyk fight now, working with AJ. I’m extremely confident of helping him put that right. People said the same with Wallin – he’s struggled with southpaws, Wallin’s gonna be a tough fight – and he handed him more than comfortably.
“So in terms of Usyk, I’d love to get the opportunity to help him put that right.”
Joshua vs Usyk 3 might well be a possibility in late 2024 or early 2025 – remember that the Saudi money men want the winner of that Fury vs Usyk unification match on February 17 to face the winner of Joshua vs Ngannou on March 8.
