Eddie Hearn has said that while Rob McCracken will remain as part of Anthony Joshua’s team, a new trainer is likely to be announced by AJ as soon as he starts training camp for his must-win rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. And fans are interested to hear who Joshua will be bringing in (or has already brought in). Hearn says that while a new trainer being brought in with around 12 weeks to go until the Usyk return is risky, to do nothing and to change nothing would be a riskier move by AJ.
So who might Joshua’s new trainer be?
Last year, after the shock loss to Usyk, Joshua paid a visit with, Virgil Hunter, Ronnie Shields, Eddy Reynoso – while this year, Joshua was seen working out under the watchful eye of Floyd Mayweather (Junior not Senior).
Might Joshua begin his new assault on heavyweight dominance with of these excellent trainers, or might Joshua even work with Mayweather? Plenty of people feel Joshua lost to Usyk in large part because he ‘fought the wrong fight’ on September 25 of 2021; that the natural heavyweight did not use his advantages in size, weight, and power. In the return fight, which is expected to take place some time around March or April of this year, Joshua has to make it a more physical affair, in which he jumps right on the smaller man and bullies him and hits him frequently and hurts him plenty.
But can Joshua do it, and which of the mastermind trainers he has been in touch with is best suited to help him do it? Each of the trainers that have been mentioned as AJ’s possible new coach have worked with the best of the best, and all of these trainers have no shortage in big-fight experience. But is Joshua, a ‘ruined’ fighter, as Tim Bradley recently stated? Bradley says the shock stoppage loss Joshua suffered against Andy Ruiz back in June of 2019, ‘ruined him,’ that Joshua is too content with losing. If this is so, maybe not even Hunter, Shields, Reynoso or even “Money” can help AJ.
If his mental confidence has gone, even the finest trainers will not be able to get him back on top.
Joshua has some big decisions to make and soon (unless he has already made his decision but hasn’t yet made it public). Joshua’s very career will be on the line in the Usyk rematch. Lose again, and it could be the end. Who out of Reynoso, Shields, Hunter, Mayweather and maybe one or two other guys, has the best chance to make sure this doesn’t happen? Can Joshua get revenge over Usyk, or does he lose for a third time?