Trainer Eddy Reynoso says he’s interested in training Anthony Joshua for his next fight against Oleksandr Usyk for their rematch next May. Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) is expected to replace his long-time coach Rob McCracken for his rematch with IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs).
Assuming that Reynoso isn’t going to completely steer Joshua away from fighting elite opposition like we’ve seen happen with Canelo Alvarez since 2018, it’s doubtful that he’ll make any improvements at all in AJ’s game.
Joshua has major stamina issues, and he can’t take a punch without getting hurt. Even against the non-puncher Usyk, Joshua was hurt last September. These are things that Reynoso can’t fix.
We haven’t seen one improvement in Andy Ruiz Jr’s game since he began training with Reynoso. If anything, Ruiz Jr. is worse than he was before.
Reynoso, who is well known for being the coach that has guided the career of Canelo Alvarez, believes he can make improvements in Joshua’s game to help him beat Usyk.
Canelo is a good fighter, but a lot of the reasons for his success is things that he’s learned on his own from watching other fighters. You can’t give Reynoso credit for Canelo.
“Well, it’s a question of timing of his next fight. We talked with Eddie Hearn and Joshua’s management and we will see what happens,” said Reynoso to Fight Hub TV when asked about whether he’d be interested in training him for the rematch with Usyk.
“I would love to work with Joshua. Why not? My job is to train fighters, and I will see if I can make it work,” said Reynoso about him training Joshua for the rematch with Usyk next May.
What Reynoso is good at is choosing opposition for Canelo to fight. He’s very good at selecting opposition to keep Canelo winning. More anything, Reynoso’s selection of opposition is what makes him so valuable.
If Reynoso were to choose Joshua’s opposition, we might not see him fighting Usyk, Tyson Fury, or anyone else that could potentially beat him. If Joshua is just going to fight a bunch of ham-and-eggers like Canelo has been doing since 2018, he’ll look great, but his career will disappointing.
Look at Canelo’s career. He stopped fighting great opposition in 2018 when he defeated Gennady Golovkin. After that fight, Canelo has fought guys from Europe, and beatable guys from the U.S like Caleb Plant and Danny Jacobs.
“I think work his distance more, better combinations,” said Reynoso on what improvements Joshua needs in his game. “He has a lot of good traits, a lot of good physical traits, but doesn’t take advantage of them.
“I’m a boxing trainer and willing to work with anyone. Him also,” said Reynoso when asked about training Joshua. “Whoever, it’s just a thing of when the fights will be happening, and we are ready.
“Yeah, I spoke to Joshua and Hearn to see what can be done and we will see what’s next.
“No, there’s no conflict there having Joshua there with Andy [Ruiz Jr]. They both don’t have fights, so there’s the opportunity to work with both of them. No, there’s no conflict, not at all.
“Andy has other fights coming and so does Joshua,” said Reynoso.
“I’ve talked to his dad. Let’s see if we can do something with him,” said Reynoso when asked about potentially training welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr.
If Joshua feels that Reynoso will be the magic person that turns his career around more power to him, he needs to open his eyes and take a good hard look at Canelo and Ruiz.
Canelo has a lot of controversial decisions on his resume, and it’s obvious that he’s STOPPED fighting quality fighters after his questionable win over GGG in 2018. In the last four years, Canelo has fought these guys:
- Avni Yildirim
- Rocky Fielding
- Billy Joe Saunders
- Callum Smith
- Sergey Kovalev
- Caleb Plant
- Danny Jacobs
The guys that Canelo SHOULD have been fighting are these fighters:
- David Benavidez
- Gennady Golovkin
- David Morrell Jr
- Demetrius Andrade
- Jermall Charlo