In October after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua travelled to the USA to speak to a handful of American trainers. Right now, we’re waiting to hear whether he’ll switch up his team and relocate for the Usyk rematch. Joshua spent two days with Ronnie Shields, the celebrated former trainer of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield and his assistant Dominick Guinn in Texas.
MyBettingSites caught up with Guinn, who says: AJ needs to stop listening to the same people… we will bring the killer back out of him if he steps out of his comfort zone and comes to Texas.
“It was a great visit. I always thought Anthony Joshua was a great guy out of the ring. We worked with him on a few things and just gave him some advice that was pretty much it.
“There’s always a time and a place for change. I don’t know his team. But if I was in his shoes, I would definitely make a change. You’ve been dealing with the same people for so long and they can only take you so far, now it’s up to him if he wants to change. He really needs to get out and see something else, different scenery, and I think it would be great for him to come to the United States.
“I think he’s a great champion and he’s a great person for the heavyweight division. And once he gets back to self-renewing, just back to what he used to do that got him to the top, he’ll be back on top again with that killer instinct and not listening to some people who have probably never fought before.”
Dominick Guinn: We’ll bring back out the killer in Joshua, we’ll switch the lights back on. If he came to Houston, you’ll see the best AJ you’ve ever seen before
“Go back to the drawing board, get back to the stuff that really got him to the top of the business. You know, using that great, devastating jab. Putting your punches together. Definitely throwing a lot of right hands at a southpaw.
“He needs to get back into believing in himself, believing what he can do. I believe that he knows that he’s a champion, he knows what to do. I think he just really needs somebody to bring him out of him. And I think right now, the people over there, his current team are probably not bringing it out of him.
“That’s what I mean, yes – we’ll bring the dog out of him, the killer out of him, help him remember how it felt before he won his first title, before he beat Charles Martin and got that first belt. And the hunger he felt when he first won it. If he comes to us, that’s what we’ll be preaching for him to get back to. I think it’s just like a light switch. We just need to turn the lights on. It’s going to be just pretty much dead easy to just turn a light on. If he decides to come to Houston, he will win that title back and WBC belt also.
“I feel like if he does come to Houston, that’s going to give him another boost when he steps in the ring. To step out on his own and come somewhere else, and somewhere where he’s uncomfortable. And he’s going to come here and he’s going to get real uncomfortable and we’re just going to bring it back out of him.
“He’s going to be around other lions and killers just like himself. It’s a professional world and a professional ring that you get into everyday. If he ends up in Houston I can guarantee you’ll probably see the best Anthony Joshua you’ve ever seen before.”
Dominick Guinn: If it was up to me, I wouldn’t have a problem with working with Rob McCracken
“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t have a problem with working with Rob McCracken, because especially if you’ve been with somebody for so long, it’s kind of hard to just turn your back on them. So I could understand being able to go back to his current coach and asking: ‘What do you think of this, or what do you think of that?’ So I understand that, as this person has been with him from day one. I can’t speak for Ronnie, but Ronnie’s a great guy, a great coach. I don’t think it would be a problem.”
“He was a really great guy. I don’t really know if he’ll come back or not because, you know, the one thing about fighters is they come and go. So I just didn’t know, I didn’t know where it would go. But it was a pleasure meeting him, and I hope he comes back someday. I do look forward to hearing something because I believe we’re the best.”
Dominick Guinn: If AJ comes to our gym in Houston, I predict he will defeat Usyk and then beat Fury
“There’s a lot of places he could go, but I’ll be honest with you, I really think if he landed in Houston, this would be the best place for him as far as learning and pushing him to the next level. If he comes, I’m predicting a spectacular performance in the rematch and I’m predicting him getting that WBC title from Fury or whoever as well. He already has all the tools, you just need the right person to bring it out of him.”
Dominick Guinn: Why Joshua should follow in Mike Tyson’s footsteps by working with Ronnie Shields
“Ronnie is an ex-champion and I’m a former fighter, though I never won a world championship. I think Ronnie has maybe 30 world champions who he has worked with and I’ve been in the ring with a lot of different guys. Ronnie’s worked with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, David Tua, Andrew Golota, so I really feel you’ll get the best experience if you come to Houston, Texas.”