BY JOHN EVANS
October 2, 2023
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
Former unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, is keeping busy whilst he waits to find out if a mega fight with Deontay Wilder will go ahead.
Joshua and former WBC champion, Wilder, have been circling each other for close to a decade but just when it seemed like a must-see shootout was on the verge of being agreed, talks cooled.
If a Wilder fight can’t be secured, it has been rumored that Joshua may still return in December. Joshua will still train with Derrick James in Dallas but whilst he waits to hear who - and when - he will be fighting, he has decided to stay closer to home and has apparently been working out at Ben Davison’s Performance Centre.
Davison, of course, is well known for his successful partnership with Joshua’s great rival, Tyson Fury; the Lineal and WBC heavyweight champion.
“His message to us was that, ‘I want to fight three times within the year.’ His first fight of the year was in April. We’ve got April to April to get the public three fights within twelve months,” Chief Operating Officer of 258 Management, David ‘KD’ Ghansa , told Boxing King Media. “I won’t give December - Eddie [Hearn] was giving December - but I will definitely say Anthony Joshua wants to be very active. He’s currently ticking over. He’s down at the Ben Davison Performance Centre at the moment. He’s ticking over with Ben, Jamie TKV - we had him in our camps in Dallas a couple of times - so he’s still active. When he’s got a date you’ll see him back in Dallas, back with Derrick James and continuing the work.”
After a long, successful relationship with Robert McCracken, Joshua employed Robert Garcia for his rematch with unified heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, but quickly pivoted after suffering a decision defeat, paring down his training team and moving to Dallas where he has worked with James for his last two fights. Joshua may not be back to his explosive best just yet but the pair seem to be building a good relationship and James has guided him to a decision victory over Jermaine Franklin and a seventh round knockout of Robert Helenius.
Davison - who has WBA featherweight champion, Leigh Wood, in action against Josh Warrington this weekend - helped Fury return to the ring after a his battle with depression and other personal problems. He was in ’The Gypsy King’s’ corner for five fights, including his epic draw with Deontay Wilder in 2018.
As Ghansa said, Joshua will return to Dallas once he has a fight date locked in but the decision to keep busy under Davision’s roof adds another interesting storyline to the never ending heavyweight soap opera.
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