Anthony Joshua Bringing on Additional Coach Ahead of Tyson Fury Fight

Joshua has been struggling to settle into one camp for the past five years.

Anthony Joshua | Getty Images for Netflix

As an official announcement edges closer, Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua will be looking for every advantage in his coaching staff as he prepares to take on Tyson Fury at the end of this year.

The fight itself is currently eclipsed by the back-and-forth negotiations both behind closed doors and on social media over where the fight will be staged, with previous favorites Wembley Stadium and Madison Square Garden now falling to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, where Joshua first became a unified heavyweight champion against Joseph Parker in 2018.

Both men have now completed their agreed-upon warm-up fights - not without their concerns, however. Joshua got dropped twice in the first round against Kristian Prenga before overcoming the scare to knock out the Albanian in the very next round.

Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga | IMAGO / Ali Issa

Fury comfortably outpointed Arslanbek Makkhmudov in April before undertaking another fight against Mariusz Wach behind closed doors in Thailand. The little footage that did emerge showed Fury getting caught by the aging Wach before forcing him to retire on his stool.

Anthony Joshua brings on Ben Davison

The alarm bells will have sounded the loudest for Joshua, however, and it seems that ahead of taking on Fury in what could be the biggest fight of his career, he will bring on Fury's and his own old trainer, Ben Davison, to assist in some capacity, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.

“He’s always been, even when Ben wasn’t his principal trainer, working with him strategically, talking all the time. I think he respects Ben a lot," Hearn explained on broadcast this past weekend. “Obviously, there’s probably a feeling that Ben Davison knows Tyson Fury extremely well.

“I don’t know AJ’s final decision to where he’s going to locate his training camp, but Ben Davison will definitely be involved in that camp and that process.”

Tyson Fury | IMAGO / PA Images

This return to favor for Davison is a double-edged sword, as it represents an opportunity for Davison to prove himself on the world stage after being dropped by Joshua after his loss to Dubois. Davison has had a poor run, with another of his fighters, Fabio Wardley, also losing to Dubois, followed by his magnum opus, Moses Itauma, getting stopped by Filip Hrgovic.

That is three heavyweight world title shots lost in a row.

Then there is also being brought in for his expert knowledge on Tyson Fury, whom he helped back from the brink in 2018, ending with a controversial draw against Deontay Wilder. But Davison considers Fury a friend, and that carries a weight of its own.

Joshua's trainer woes

The most abundantly successful period of Joshua's career was without doubt his run from turning professional to becoming the undefeated and unified heavyweight world champion - beating the likes of Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, Carlos Takam, Joseph Parker and Alexander Povetkin along the way.

Joshua vs Klitschko | IMAGO / Eibner

The common denominator in all of this is that Joshua had one trainer throughout this entire period: the man who nurtured him into an Olympic champion as an amateur, Rob McCracken. Joshua split with McCracken after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and has had four separate trainers since then: Robert Garcia, Derrick James, Ben Davison, and Team Usyk, with some overlap between James and Davison.

This lack of stability and consistency in training and philosophy has no doubt contributed to this downturn in the British boxing legend's performances and confidence.

Does going back to Ben Davison create more issues than it solves? If Joshua plans to keep Team Usyk alongside him for the Fury fight, then there might be an argument that he is building the perfect team to topple the giant. The team of the only fighter who has beaten Fury not once but twice and one of his former trainers who will have a unique insight into his mentality, training, and weaknesses.