American mentor Derrick James has no doubt that he will take the British ex-heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) to a whole new level. According to the coach, the previous specialists categorically did not fit the British.
In September 2021, Joshua lost the WBA Super, IBF, WBO titles to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, after which he parted ways with coach Rob McCracken – they have collaborated since Anthony’s amateur performances. Robert Garcia was preparing for a rematch with the Ukrainian Joshua. In the second battle, the big man looked better, but he failed to win again.
Despite Joshua’s improvement under Garcia, James
smashed that performance: “When I saw Anthony in that fight, the first thing that came to my mind was: “Dude, what the hell are you doing?” Back then we all fought together about this. I told him that I laughed at him.”
James explained the difference in approach to work. He’s going to do things differently: “The things you work on, they shouldn’t be immediately obvious. And it is always worth starting not with something external and physical. It’s all about the little details, the bricks. You start with something small, almost invisible. And starting from this, you continue to build something beautiful, something that will bloom and smell. This is how it all looks.”
The other day, rumors suddenly spread that Joshua could replace Usyk in a fight with Fury. Promoter Bob Arum (Top Rank) is clearly not against it: “If Alexander left …” But Frank Warren (Queesberry Promotions) think otherwise. He had already responded to Hearn’s proposal.
