Two-time heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, been told that making three trainer changes has done nothing for his career.
Joshua split with long-term trainer, Rob McCracken, after losing his unified world titles to Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021.
‘AJ’ opted to switch things up in the wake of defeat, appointing Robert Garcia, former trainer of Nonito Donaire and Marcos Maidana, to be his new cornerman.
Unfortunately, the decision didn’t pay off, as he was once again trumped by the tricky Ukrainian in an albeit improved performance. That was to be Garcia’s lone outing in Joshua’s corner, as the pair went their separate ways at the end of last year.
Now, Joshua has moved to the stable of 2022 Trainer of the Year, Derrick James, as the Brit looks to mount a challenge back to the top of boxing’s blue-ribbon division.
The 33-year-old returned to winning ways under the guidance of James as he outpointed Jermaine Franklin in April, but it wasn’t the statement performance fans has been hoping for.
In an interview with Seconds Out, John Fury, father of heavyweight rival, Tyson, condemned Joshua’s failure to improve under each of his trainers, using him as an example of the insignificance of the trainer role.
“Tyson is that bl***y good, that trainers can’t show him nothing.
If trainers were that good and that important, ‘AJ’ has been through a multitude of them, and he has still got the same hole up his ring piece, hasn’t he?
He’s going nowhere with them, because unfortunately it’s not just about hitting the bags and hitting the pads and having a word in somebody’s ear, who’s thinking about the cash, you’ve got to know your s**t.”
Joshua looks set to put his work under James to the ultimate test later in the year, with a fight against heavy hitter, Deontay Wilder, in the works for December in Saudi Arabia.