by The man guiding Anthony Joshua back to the summit of the heavyweight division has a habit of doing just that. Ben Davison brought Tyson Fury back from the brink in 2016 and it can only be described as a wild ride where the ‘Gypsy King’ lost 10 stone and became a world heavyweight champion again.
On Friday night, Joshua fights former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a contest that will be far from straightforward, as Fury found out last November when he was pushed to the wire with a controversial split decision win. .
Davison’s track record of rebuilding heavyweights makes him a natural choice to run Joshua’s corner and camp, even if his biggest former charge is his new fighter rival.
At just 31 years of age, three years younger than Joshua, Davison has a reputation for improving fighters’ mentality as much as their physical and fighting ability. And what struck Davison, when he began working with Joshua on short notice before his impressive victory over Otto Wallin last December, was his “coachability” and “versatility”, as well as his impressive size.
“I remember thinking he’s a mountain but polite, professional, and then when we did a bit of work the thing that came to mind was ‘very common’,” Davison tells Telegraph Sport . “Professionalism, coaching, that’s very important to me.”
But what does coachability really mean at this level? Joshua is already an Olympic gold medalist, and a two-time heavyweight champion of the world. “Well, if I say ‘you’re doing this, this is an issue, you have to stop this…’ some fighters are going to go yeah but… just to me, that’s a red flag.
“That’s the difference. So if there was something we wanted to eliminate from his game, let’s say we want to remove that from the game. And if there is still resistance, you are not coachable.
“But not with AJ, he’s very skilled and very professional. He’s not even on time, he’s early every day, he turns up right, he’s ready to start on time and every detail is taken care of. He also has a real passion for the game, which I love.”
Joshua recently went into self-imposed exile in the dark for 96 hours, paying for the privilege at a totalitarian center. Davison’s theory reveals why this seemed an attractive way to spend four days.
“I have my own reasons why he might do that and I think I think it’s so hard for people to even understand what life must be like for someone like Anthony Joshua,” Davison explains.
“Everywhere you go, everyone you meet, they meet Anthony Joshua to them, but everyone he meets is a different person, and I feel that he feels that he has to fulfill that ‘I am meet Anthony Joshua’ everyone. time. That’s a lot of responsibility.
“He really is a superstar, he has a lot to deal with and, here in camp, he behaves like one of the boys. He loves it. The McCormack twins give him a stick, and he gives a little stick back, and he absolutely loves it, because he probably doesn’t get that anywhere else. It was definitely two good camps.”
At times, Joshua has been criticized as a robotic fighter with technical and mental weaknesses. Davison grumbles and shakes his head, vehemently disagreeing with that view.
“Look, he’s gone into two rematches right off the bat [Andy Ruiz and Oleksandr Usyk] and I think it says a lot about a person’s character and state of mind,” he explains. “That’s a lot to deal with, he’s been under a lot of pressure throughout his career, and that shows his mental strength.
“We’ve picked up clips of his defense and his instinctive defense is good. Look, he’s an Olympic gold medalist, he’s a two-time heavyweight champion of the world, he’s a great fighter, he’s got great qualities.”
‘He is the most critical fighter’
Davison says the analysis of his charge is overblown. “I think he’s the most critical fighter, I think if he wears an air pod at a press conference it’s commented on, I think if he wears a hat it’s commented on, I think if he has a bit of a frown on his. a face, which is commented on, but another person can be himself and not a thing.
“It makes him the most criticized fighter, and the most talked about. Everything is analyzed, which must be a lot of pressure, but it deals with those things a lot. It’s water off a duck’s back, to be honest.”
With fellow gym analyst Lee Wylie, Davison believes they have come up with the perfect game plan for Ngannou, who showed patience and more than a little power and skill against Fury just over four months ago.
Davison also believes he has the “strategy ready” to defeat Usyk, should Joshua fight the Ukrainian for the third time after two defeats.
But now it’s Ngannou – a man with a great back story – standing in the other corner. “I’m confident in clapping for my man against Ngannou, we believe we have the plan and the skills,” says Davison.
And then Fury next? “Ask me again after Fury and Usyk fight on May 18 … then I’ll let you know.”
