Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua needs to change his environment

By Boxing News - 11/07/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn says he thinks it’s a good idea for Anthony Joshua to change the environment ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in March or April next year.

Hearn still maintains that Joshua’s recent trip to the U.S wasn’t about looking for a new coach to replace his longtime trainer Rob McCraken. It was more of a case of AJ wanting to check out a new environment and learn how they do things on the other side of the pond.

Whatever the real reason is for why former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) came to the United States for his visit, he’s going to have to get to work and figure out how he can improve his game enough to defeat Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) in the rematch.

Arum wants to help Joshua

Promoter Bob Arum is giving Joshua a way out of his situation by offering to have him step aside so that Tyson Fury can take the fight with Usyk next, and AJ would face the winner. Fury would be doing the dirty work of fighting Usyk, and he’d stand a better chance of beating him than AJ ever will.

Fury would be the one falling on his sword by taking the risky fight with Usyk rather than Joshua, who already proved that he has no clue how to defeat the former undisputed cruiserweight champion.

Image: Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua needs to change his environment

Arum’s idea makes a lot of sense because it’ll give Joshua time to work up the nerve to boot his current trainer McCracken in favor of some new blood. If Joshua merely wants to add a new coach and keep McCracken, he’ll still need time to get acclimatized to his new trainer.

It will take time for Joshua to change his game with his new coach, and Fury would be giving him that time by facing Usyk next.

Yeah, Hearn points out that Joshua is a fast learner, and he proved that when he changed his fighting style for his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019.

That situation was ideal for Joshua because Ruiz ate his way to 283 lbs, and he was too fat to win the rematch.

Arum wants to help Joshua

“I believe he needs to change his environment,” said Hearn to DAZN Boxing Show in talking about what Joshua needs to turn things around with his sagging career.

“Everyone keeps saying to me, ‘Who do you think is the best trainer for AJ?’ I said it’s just the person he believes in; he feels comfortable with and can sit him on the stool and change the direction of a fight at the right time. Rob McCracken is his trainer, his mentor, his adviser.”

“I believe that’s a good move for him. He’s been in Sheffield since he’s been 18.

The trip wasn’t about identifying a new trainer; it was about learning and new environments,” said Hearn about Joshua’s recent trip to the U.S, in which he visited many different gyms and spoke with other trainers.

It sounds like Hearn is trying to whitewash the actual reasons why Joshua came to the U.S to visit different gyms. Joshua is desperate at this point, and his behavior suggests that he’s hitting the nuclear button to try and save his sinking career.

Joshua’s recent loss to Usyk wasn’t the first of his career; it was his second in his four fights, and it’s a signal that things are fallowing apart for him.

That’s why it’s an excellent idea for Joshua and Hearn to take Arum up on his offer to let Fury do the hard job of taking on Usyk next.

In the meantime, Joshua will get a new trainer to replace McCraken or work alongside him. As such, by the time that Joshua faces the winner of the Fury vs. Usyk fight, he’ll have been with his new coach for a long enough period for him to win potentially.