Anthony Joshua is so confident heading into his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk that he thinks he doesn't need a trainer.
Joshua lost his heavyweight titles to Usyk last September and immediately activated the rematch clause to trigger a second fight with the Ukrainian.
The Brit has pondered finding a new trainer for the rematch, and his promoter Eddie Hearn expects 'AJ' to announce his new coach when he starts his fight camp.
Joshua considered taking a £15million step aside deal to allow an undisputed title fight between Usyk and Tyson Fury, but ultimately decided against doing so.
Fury, who claimed Joshua wanted almost £20million to step aside, will now fight WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte next.
Hearn said Joshua is "pumped" for his rematch with Usyk and believes he could avenge his loss without the help of a trainer.
“There’s nothing else,” Hearn told The MMA Hour about Joshua vs. Usyk. "The only other thing I was looking at because there was a lot of money on the table was this other deal, but there’s no other fight.
“Again, that’s the fight [Usyk], and that’s the fight that AJ wanted. He will make changes to his training team.
“But when I sat down with him last Monday about the step aside, he said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘But you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’
"He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.‘ He’s pumped for that fight, and it’s a really tough fight."
Joshua has worked with Robert McCracken since starting his professional career, with the coach also guiding 'AJ' to Olympic gold at the 2012 London games.
He toured the US in October just a month after his loss to Usyk, training with coaches such as Virgil Hunter, Eddy Reynoso and Ronnie Shields.
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Hearn, who thinks Fury intentionally avoided fighting Usyk, doesn't believe Joshua is getting the credit he deserves for rematching the Ukrainian.
“By the way, Fury is no muck. He knows how good Usyk is. That’s why he didn’t want to fight him off the bat. He’s really good. So it’s a tough fight for AJ," Hearn continued.
"I just hope that AJ gets the credit for the fights that he takes. How many fighters honestly would have taken the Usyk fight if they were in Joshua’s position?
"How many would have vacated the belt and gone, ‘Oh, no, we’re going down another route.’ He wants this fight, and now he’s fighting him again straight off the bat.
"So May time is when we’re planning on doing that fight in the UK."
