Tyson Fury's former coach believes Anthony Joshua can beat Oleksandr Usyk - if he can back his rival on to the ropes.
Joshua was outpointed by Usyk last September which saw him lose his unified world titles in convincing fashion. The former two-time champion will now have the opportunity to regain his crown when he faces Usyk in a rematch on August 20 in Saudi Arabia.
'AJ' came into heavy criticism for his tactical approach last time out which saw Usyk take control for the majority of the fight. Boxing trainer Ben Davison believes Joshua needs to unsettle Usyk's rhythm early on to get his redemption this summer. "Positioning is going to be key for Joshua if he wants to win the fight," Davison explained when assessing the fight during an interview with iFL TV.
"I think it is important that he makes Usyk work at a pace he is not comfortable with, and is important that he controls areas of the ring so that he can do that. Eventually he needs to start backing Usyk up to the ropes where he is unable to use his feet. If you are allowing him to dictate the pace it could be difficult. It is not going to be an easy fight, stylistically somebody like Usyk against these bigger heavyweights is tough.
"But do I believe Joshua is capable of winning the fight? Yes. Do I believe that he can control the fight? Yes. Do I believe that he will still have sticky moments? Yes. Do I believe that he could be behind but still land something that could change the fight? Yes. But I also see ways Usyk can win the fight. It is vital that he is proactive and not reactive, I would like to see Joshua win the fight."
Joshua elected to part ways with previous coach Robert McCracken after the first meeting, who was criticised by many for his advice to Joshua during the fight. The heavyweight has been working with coach Angel Fernandez since the defeat, but has also added experienced trainer Robert Garcia to his team, who joined up with the star at Loughborough University.
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The British heavyweight has now travelled to Jeddah where he will finish his training as he plots his revenge. Joshua has admitted that he had too many voices in his corner for the first fight, but is now settled with his new corner team.
“There was a lot going on in the corner and that didn’t help," Joshua said. "A corner is like a pitstop. You’ve got probably 55 seconds in total to calm down, hydrate, simple instructions. Too many voices at once is definitely not good for anybody, not just me. It wasn’t like ‘take the fight to this f***** , listen you’re losing the fight’, no.”
