Anthony Joshua visits Ronnie Shields gym

By Boxing News - 10/19/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua visited American trainer Ronnie Shields today after meeting with coaches Virgil Hunter and Eddy Reynoso in the States.

It’s widely believed that the recently dethroned former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) is on an expedition to find a new trainer to replace his current coach Rob McCracken.

Ronnie Shields would be a good coach for Joshua, but he’s not going to be able to make inroads in the areas of AJ’s poor stamina and punch resistance.

A new trainer won’t help Joshua

I mean, there isn’t a trainer alive or dead that can fix those two flaws in Joshua’s game, which is why it might be pointless for him to swap out McCracken for another coach.

Joshua has already sunk his own ship with his wacky idea of insisting on heading straight into the rematch with Usyk rather than taking two or three confidence builders first. AJ’s decision to stubbornly face Oleksandr Usyk in an immediate rematch almost guarantees he’s going to lose.

Image: Anthony Joshua visits Ronnie Shields gym

If Joshua does hire Shields, Eddy Reynoso, or Virgil Hunter to take over as his coach, you got to feel sorry for them. They’ll be leading Joshua into another massacre at the hands of Usyk.

Joshua coming off a terrible 12 round unanimous decision defeat against 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk (19-0, 12 KOs) on September 25th, and he’s already made the decision to fight him in an immediate rematch.

Switching out McCracken in favor of an American-based trainer could be the answer that the 31-year-old Joshua is searching for. If nothing, it’ll give Joshua a chance to hear some new ideas as he steams ahead to what could be a second straight defeat against Usyk.

Many boxing fans, former fighters, and media members believe the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Joshua is making a massive mistake in choosing to fight Usyk right away.

Charles Brun also thinks it’s a foolish move on Joshua’s part because he was utterly outclassed by Usyk last time out. Hiring a new trainer isn’t the answer, and it’s likely to be a waste of time.

Why isn’t Hearn talking AJ out of it?

Despite the huge ramifications for a second defeat would mean, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is on board with his decision to face Usyk in an immediate rematch.

Hearn is a happy-go-lucky type of guy and doesn’t seem to register with him what will likely happen when Joshua meets up with Usyk on the night.

Once Hearn realizes what a mistake he made by giving Joshua the greenlight for this fight, it’ll be too late.

Hearn is willing to gamble on Joshua making the wrongs right in a second fight with the talented Usyk and then marching forward to face WBC champion Tyson Fury in the undisputed championship.

What makes Hearn believe Joshua can gain his revenge against Usyk is that he previously avenged his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019 after getting smashed by him in their first fight.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to lump Usyk in the same position as the overweight, slow-moving 283-lb blob Ruiz Jr that Joshua defeated two years ago.

Unlike Ruiz, Usyk is fast on his feet, trim, fast, and not prone to sitting on his backside celebrating his previous win for months on end. You can count on Usyk working hard in training camp with his coach Anatoliy Lomachenko, and coming into the rematch with Joshua at 1o0%.

 

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