19 December 2023 , 08:36
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Anthony Joshua has revealed he hired Tyson Fury's coach thanks to his experience of this weekend's opponent Otto Wallin.
Joshua takes on Wallin Saudi Arabia knowing he must avoid defeat to secure a mega-fight with Deontay Wilder back in the Middle East next spring. The former world champion only appointed Derrick James as his new trainer earlier this year - his second since splitting from Rob McCracken - but has now made another change.
But Joshua insists he is only working with Ben Davison to avoid having to travel to America for training camp - and to pick his brain about Fury's fight with Wallin in 2019. “I was training with Ben Davison in the UK and this fight came up with seven weeks to go and it would have been crazy to pack up and go to the States,” he said.
“Derrick had Ryan Garcia too so I asked Ben and he said ‘you work hard, cool’. We’ve been using Ben’s Wallin experience from a tactics point-of-view, nothing to do with character. “I have never asked, 'What was Fury like? What was his preparation like?' Ben has more respect than to talk about his former fighters like that. We have looked at how to defeat Wallin and we know, He has things he can exploit.
“I think it has been really good with Ben, as it has been with Derrick. I have a great relationship with Derrick, he messaged me today actually but I have to stay focused, I am not on my phone as much, I am not replying to many people. Afterwards we will catch up and I am sure I will be back in Texas again working with him soon.”
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Fury was pushed all the way by Wallin before scraping a points decision over the Swede in Las Vegas. He went on to ditch Davison and team up with SugarHill Steward for his second and third fights with Wilder which he won by stoppage to become world champion for a second time.
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But while Joshua is confident victory over Wallin can propel him towards a third stint at the top of the division, he accepts his dream of becoming the undisputed champion is over with the belts set to fragment after Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk in February.
“It won’t happen anymore. I think it’s just the reality," said Joshua. "What will happen is that Usyk and Fury are now in position to compete for the undisputed, and once they compete for the undisputed, the belts will get split up again. And I feel probably it would take me about five to six years to go through and get all the belts, beat all the independent champions. That will probably take me on to being 40-41, so it’s probably not in my timeframe.”