Following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022, Anthony Joshua appointed Derrick James as his new trainer. Since he was fascinated by the fact that Tony Bellew threw 200 punches each round under James’ training, ‘AJ’ thought he would improve with Derrick. In alignment with his expectations, and with James’ instructions, Joshua won two fights in 2023.

However, ahead of the scheduled bout against Otto Wallin, ‘AJ’ switched from James to new trainer, Ben Davidson. At this, while the boxing world scratched its heads about the move, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed why ‘AJ’ picked Davidson over Derrick.

Eddie Hearn highlights Ben Davidson’s contribution to Tyson Fury’s victory over Otto Wallin

According to Hearn, six weeks is too short of a period for Joshua to prepare for Wallin. Likewise, the promoter feels it would only add to Joshua’s difficulty if the UK resident travels to Texas to train with James and then to the Middle East for the fight. Hence, Hearn believes it only benefits Joshua if he stays in the UK and trains with Ben Davidson who shares a history with the WBC Heavyweight champ, Tyson Fury.

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“It’s more about the location, I mean. Six weeks out, very difficult to fly to Texas, [and] then fly across a couple of time zones to the Middle East. He’s been training with Ben [for] the last three or four weeks. And Derrick James has been aware of that situation. It’s comfortable to train in the UK for this fight. ,” said Hearn.

In addition, Hearn highlighted that Davidson helped Fury win against Wallin in 2019 which works in Joshua’s favor. “Obviously, Ben was part of Tyson Fury’s team when he fought Otto Wallin. So, he is aware of the challenge,” Hearn added. However, would Derrick James be part of Joshua’s training camp for the Wallin fight at all?

Hearn assures it’s not a split between Joshua and Derrick

On being asked if James would at all contribute to Joshua’s training for the Wallin fight, Hearn declared he was not sure. However, he assured the boxing world that ‘AJ’ and James were not splitting. “I’m not sure. They’re definitely working together moving forward. It’s not a split,” Hearn declared. “It’s just time zones [and] training at home. This was the most effective and economic way to get it done,” he concluded.

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With that said, do you feel Davidson would be more effective than Derrick? Do you believe that it is not a split between Joshua and James given the losses the latter has suffered recently? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below

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