Anthony Joshua has fired back at critics who "talked s***" about him for parting ways with two trainers in as many years.
Joshua, who fights Jermaine Franklin this Saturday, split from longtime trainer Robert McCracken after losing his heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021. McCracken guided 'AJ' to Olympic gold in 2012 and helped him become a two-time unified world champion, but Joshua decided to part ways with the trainer after getting his tactics horribly wrong for his first bout with Usyk.
The Brit linked up with accomplished coach Robert Garcia for his rematch with Usyk, on the advice of his other trainer Angel Fernandez, but Joshua is no longer working with either of the trainers for his upcoming fight against Franklin. 'AJ' has issued a fiery response to criticisms about his trainer switch as Derrick James hopes to get him back to winning ways on Saturday.
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"People talk so much s*** about me it's crazy. I just keep it one hundred. If I'm someone that runs my camp why am I going to change that, I'm a two-time heavyweight champion of the world. Why am I going to change that, go to Derrick and say 'Everything I've done, forget it, you go and take lead'. I've always let my coach lead, whatever he thinks we should do.
"Ask Derrick, the only thing I will dictate on is me wanting to do more. That's probably the only thing I'll ever as him to do like 'Can we do one more round on this or another on that'. I'm not dictating writing out a programme at 8 o'clock at night when I should be in bed resting, people just talk a lot of s*** about me."
James trains world champions such as Errol Spence Jr and Jermell Charlo in Texas, with Joshua preparing for his fight against Franklin in the US. James' gym doesn't have the modern-day equipment seen in many other boxing gyms and Joshua has mimicked his trainer's mentality by using old-school training methods, such as chopping wood, to prepare for his fight with Franklin.
"I like Derrick James' gym because it's got what you need, it isn't fancy," he added. "It's got the ring, boxing bag and space where you can do your calisthenics. Where I got from Derrick is the teacher, he's a very good teacher away from all of the other stuff that boxing has developed into. People are making money by designing new equipment, but he's a very good teacher."
