Anthony Joshua will stick with Ben Davison as his trainer for his March 8th fight against Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This will be Joshua’s second fight with Davison as his trainer and a clear signal that he won’t be working with U.S. coach Derrick James. As AJ’s habit, he’ll likely move on from Davison if he struggles or loses to Ngannou.
That’s just Joshua’s style. When he doesn’t look his best, the coach has got to go, but his problems persist except when facing beatable opposition.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) fought well with Davison in his corner last December against Otto Wallin, stopping him in six rounds on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card.
Of course, with that level of opponent, Joshua could have won with ease training himself, as Wallin looked weak and not in the best physical condition.
Ben Davison’s Blueprint
Davison will put the former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua through his paces in camp and give a game plan similar to what we saw in his rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr. in December 2019.
Joshua fought like Wladimir Klitschko for that fight, jabbing, moving and trying up Ruiz. That approach is a safety-first, but it’ll keep AJ from getting clipped by Ngannou.
Joshua won’t take chances against Ngannou unless he’s absolutely certain he won’t get countered by one of his powerful left hooks.
What If Ngannou Wins?
“To me, this is a tune-up fight. It’s kind of a warm-up fight for AJ in the sense that there’s something looming, and that’s the winner of Usyk-Fury,” said Darren Barker on AJ’s channel about Anthony Joshua’s fight with Francis Ngannou on March 8th.
“Do you really think this is a warm-up fight, 6’5″, 265-lb guy?” said Ade Oladipo about Ngannou not being a warm-up for Joshua. “If Ngannou does lose to AJ, what does he do? Does he stay in it?
“Do you take a couple of steps down to Martin Bakole or to Chisora?
“He only has two other names to fight. Wilder is still a big draw and Usyk,” said Barker about options for Ngannou if he loses to Joshua on March 8th. “How would he get up for a lesser opponent?
“It’s incredible that we’re talking about this, talking about a boxing novice. He fights the best in the world [Tyson Fury], and now he arguably fights #3 in the world [Joshua]. It’s unheard of, but can you imagine if Ngannou was to win? How that would completely change the landscape of boxing,” said Barker.
