Anthony Joshua returns to trainer Ben Davison for a super heavyweight fight with Tyson Fury in December.
Davison’s specialty is training both Joshua and Fury. The trainer, who also trains Fabio Wardley and Moses Itauma, helped Fury return from a long layoff from the sport, an unbeaten run that included his first fight with Deontay Wilder in 2018.
Recently, Davison worked with Joshua, although AJ left and brought in trainers from Oleksandr Usykin’s camp for his last two fights.
Now reunited with Joshua Davison, he will be in the opposite corner to Fury in a fight for the first time. This caused Fury to label him a “traitor”.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said that AJ maintained his relationship with Davison and even switched training teams, and that he was not specifically targeting Fury.
“Ben is a great trainer. Even in the last fight and the fight before that, he was always working behind the scenes with Ben Davison,” Hearn said. Sky Sports News.
“Obviously, Ben Davison knows Tyson Fury as well. I don’t think that’s the determining factor. But AJ felt it would be a good addition to the camp.
“So he’s going to be the head coach for this fight. He’s still working with Usik’s team and those guys.”
As Joshua had a number of different head coaches, Rob McCracken hired Robert Garcia and then Derrick James before teaming up with Usykin’s Davison and then Yegor Golub.
But promoter Hearn insists that doesn’t mean Joshua’s corner is unstable.
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Watch the best bits from the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua press conference.
“I think AJ knows where he’s at, but I don’t think he’s going to start changing things around. He just wants to scratch things up and get things right strategy-wise,” Hearn said.
“He knows what to do. And ultimately, it’s to land him right on the chin and knock him down. That’s the game plan.
“And we have to find a way to do it efficiently and properly. He will do that diligently with Ben Davison and the team.”
Nelson ‘surprised’ by Davison’s decision
Former world champion and Sky Sports boxing expert Johnny Nelson believes Joshua’s return to Davison will raise questions.
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Jamie Moore, Barry Jones and Matthew McLean discuss who will win between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua when the pair meet in Cardiff on December 11.
“Ben has come under a lot of criticism and has been accused of a few other fighters lately,” Nelson said. Sky Sports News.
“Obviously, AJ is comfortable with whatever message Ben Davison is giving him. I think I saw Tyson and Shane. [Fury] walked past him and called him a traitor and he had a small smile on his face.
“I’m just surprised, but it’s his choice.
“I don’t agree with fighters chopping and changing trainers all the time because you have to feel that you’re building a relationship, trust and confidence with your trainer.
“If he says jump, you don’t say how high you are, you just jump, and so I have a hard time understanding the cut and change.
“But it’s AJ’s call, he obviously did it for a reason. It’s going to be interesting.”