Anthony Joshua is expected to have Ben Davison back in his corner for the highly anticipated grudge match against Tyson Fury, who was once trained by Davison. The Joshua vs Fury fight is likely to be officially announced soon, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium tipped to host the British super-fight on December 11.
This confirmation would conclude months of complex negotiations, during which there were talks of the fight potentially happening in the US rather than in the UK. One key detail yet to be finalized is Joshua’s coaching team, but the 36-year-old boxer seems inclined to reunite with Davison.
Davison recently coached Joshua to stoppage wins over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou between December 2023 and March 2024, before Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Since then, Joshua has had two bouts with corner members from former rival Oleksandr Usyk supporting him — stopping Jake Paul in December and eking out a chaotic two-round victory against Kristian Prenga in July. That win in Saudi Arabia came just a day after Fury’s under-the-radar seven-round stoppage of Mariusz Wach in Thailand.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, explained over the weekend that even when Davison wasn’t the lead trainer, he remained strategically involved and in regular contact with Joshua. “I think AJ respects Ben a lot, and obviously there’s a feeling that Ben knows Tyson Fury extremely well,” Hearn said. “He’s one of the best trainers in the world. I don’t know where AJ’s final training camp will be, but Ben Davison will definitely play a role.”
Davison previously coached Fury during his comeback in 2018 after a two-and-a-half year break. Under Davison’s guidance, Fury defeated Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta, and controversially drew with Deontay Wilder in a fight many believed Fury should have won. Fury went on to beat Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin before parting ways with Davison ahead of a 2020 rematch with Wilder, in which Fury claimed the WBC title with an impressive stoppage victory.
Despite his successes, Davison remains a contentious figure among boxing fans and experts. Most recently, his corner work was criticized during Moses Itauma’s August loss to Filip Hrgovic — a fight in which the young heavyweight, possibly dealing with a leg injury, exhausted himself and was stopped in the ninth round. That defeat marked Itauma’s first career loss, handing Hrgovic the vacant IBF heavyweight title.
Fan Take: The reunion of Anthony Joshua with Ben Davison adds an intriguing layer to the upcoming clash with Tyson Fury, especially given Davison’s past with both fighters. This development could significantly influence training strategies and tactics, making the bout even more compelling for fight fans and potentially reshaping heavyweight boxing dynamics.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
