Highly regarded trainer Ben Davison believes he has the knowhow to help Anthony Joshua finally figure out Oleksandr Usyk.
Davison was in Joshua’s corner last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the former heavyweight titlist from London dominated Otto Wallin, stopping the Swede in five rounds. Joshua partisans called it a return to form for a fighter who has often been criticized for waffling over his identity in the ring.
It was Joshua’s third win in as many fights in the past year, or since he notched two straight losses to Ukraine’s Usyk.
While Joshua’s comeback fights against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius were under the helm of respected Texas coach Derrick James, Joshua opted to work with Davison ahead of the Wallin fight, presumably because of convenience and scheduling.
Neither Davison nor Joshua indicated that they would be working together on Joshua’s next fight, but it seems plausible that the two may decide to do so given the results on Saturday night.
“I don’t know,” Davison told Boxing News when asked of his future with Joshua. “I can’t comment on that. …It’s a pleasure to work with but we’ll see.”
But Davison, who has trained the likes of Tyson Fury and Devin Haney in the past, made it clear he believes he can get Joshua in a position to avenge his losses to Usyk, a skilled southpaw who tormented the bigger, stronger fighter with his feints and overall dexterity.
“Being selfish, I’d really like to put that Usyk fight right for him,” Davison said. “I don’t know if that’s even doable. But that’s something that I would love to help him do. That’s something I said to him first when came down to the gym, that I’m really confident that we’d be able to help him put that right.”
After Deontay Wilder lost to Joseph Parker on the same card on Saturday night, it is not clear whom Joshua will face in the spring. A possible fight is with promotional stablemate Filip Hrgovic, who could become an IBF heavyweight champion if the organization decides to strip the winner of the upcoming undisputed heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Usyk on Feb. 17 in Riyadh.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.