Tyson Fury's former coach Ben Davison has outlined the changes Anthony Joshua must make in order to beat Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch.
Joshua was comfortably beaten in his first fight with Usyk, and has since exercised his rematch clause and switched trainers from Rob McCracken to Robert Garcia. He has already come back from defeat once in his career and reclaimed heavyweight gold, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to exact revenge on the Ukrainian after a comprehensive loss last September.
And ahead of their slated August 20 fight date, Davison has weighed in on what Joshua needs to do to become a three-time heavyweight champion. Davison is no stranger to elite world level boxing, having trained undisputed title holders Devin Haney and Josh Taylor, as well as bringing Fury back from 400lb to facing Deontay Wilder in 2018.
Asked by a fan on Instagram what Joshua must do to beat Usyk, Davison responded that he has to work on "ring positioning first and foremost."
"He has to be composed enough to be able to process what is going on," Davison continued, before saying that Joshua must ask himself 'When I did this, Usyk's response was', and "register that information".
"It's important that he is able to create to then break rhythm," the trainer added. "This will at times cause Usyk to reset and break base which is something Joshua can use to his advantage. He has to switch up the point of his attacks, making it hard for Usyk to anticipate which will also make it difficult for Usyk to counter.
"I think he could do with being more compact but still naturally orthodox/southpaw there will be some lead hand engagement, which he can use to his advantage if he understands what to expect from different looks.
"But Usyk is very good with his own lead hand so I think it's vital Joshua learns to claim and regain the initiative in these moments. He has to be able to create opportunities and know when to attack."
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Davison hasn't lost a fight in six years as a head trainer, although he did come close when Taylor picked up a razor-close decision win over Jack Catterall in Glasgow earlier this year. He brought Leigh Wood to featherweight glory, and many believe that Fury won the fight he coached him in against Wilder for the heavyweight title, despite the result being a draw.
The one loss on the young coach's record was his role in the corner of Billy Joe Saunders for his loss to Canelo Alvarez last summer. But Mark Tibbs was head trainer for that fight, with Davison taking on a lesser coaching role.
He had been working with Haney all the way to his undisputed title fight against George Kambosos Jr last weekend, but was unable to travel to Australia for the bout. It was one of a number of issues the American faced, including his father initially being refused entry to the country and his cutman being banned completely.
