Can Eddy Reynoso save Anthony Joshua’s career?

By Boxing News - 10/18/2021 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Anthony Joshua visited Eddy Reynoso’s gym in San Diego last weekend, causing much speculation that he’ll be switching out his longtime trainer Rob McCracken to try and save his sagging career.

If everything were going peachy keen with the former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua’s career, people wouldn’t jump to conclusions about his visit to Reynoso’s gym.

Things aren’t going well for Joshua, and he cannot absorb another loss without it being obvious that his career is declining. He lost to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019.

Can Reynoso improve these areas of Joshua’s game:

  •  Stamina
  • Punch resistance
  • Lack of flexibility
  • Confidence
  • Boxing IQ

Some of those areas can be improved by Reynoso, but not all of them. Joshua is going to need all those boxes to be checked for him to beat Usyk in their rematch next March.

Image: Can Eddy Reynoso save Anthony Joshua's career?

Reynoso won’t put a dent in helping Joshua’s stamina and punch resistance, meaning he’s not going to best Usyk unless he can overwhelm him in the early rounds.

Although Joshua avenged the defeat later that year, he didn’t look great against the terribly out-of-shape fighter.

Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) needs someone to help him to prepare for the biggest fight of his career in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk next March. AJ already lost to Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) last September.

A second defeat to the Ukrainian fighter would be nothing short of catastrophic. It would be Joshua third defeat in his last five fights, making it clear that it’s pretty much over with for him.

Before Joshua chooses to go with Reynoso, he needs to consider the possibility that he might not be able to help him.

Reynoso’s only fighter in his stable that he’s developed on his own is Canelo Alvarez, who was a guy that learned from observation and through his many fights. It wasn’t Reynoso that made Canelo what he is today.

All the other well-known fighters that Reynoso now trains are fighters that obviously were pulled in due to Canelo being part of his stable. Canelo has been a great recruitment tool for Reynoso.

AJ should stay with McCracken

Joshua would be better off staying with his trainer Rob McCracken and focusing on being aggressive early on. It’s no mystery what Joshua needs to do against Usyk, and it’s a waste of his time for him to change trainers when he’s going to be told the same thing.

If Joshua lacks the confidence in himself to fight hard against Usyk, he’s going to be lost no matter who trains him for the rematch.

Someone like Teddy Atlas might be able to motivate Joshua by giving him a hard time in between rounds if he fails to fight the way he wants him to. Atlas’ motivation won’t help Joshua’s poor stamina or his punch resistance.