Anthony Joshua ‘teams up’ with Tyson Fury’s former trainer for December 23 fight against Otto Wallin

Lewis OldhamLewis Oldham15 November 2023
Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua

According to reports, Anthony Joshua is ‘teaming up’ with Tyson Fury’s former trainer Ben Davison for his fight against Otto Wallin on December 23.

Joshua has been active in 2023 as he continues to rebuild following his two losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

The Brit has developed into a more reserved (but arguably better) boxer and he has earned convincing wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius this year.

His team have been in talks with Deontay Wilder’s representatives over a fight at the end of this year but this is off the table *for now* after Saudi Arabia decided to withdraw their site fee offer.

Joshua is still going to fight one more time this year. It’s emerged that he will fight Otto Wallin on a huge card in Saudi Arabia on December 23. Wilder is due to face Joseph Parker on this bill, which will also feature Dmitry Bivol, Jai Opetaia and Daniel Dubois.

The former two-time world heavyweight champion was trained by Rob McCracken during his early-career rise before he worked with Robert Garcia for the Usyk rematch.

Joshua has had camps in America for his last two bouts as he has worked with Derrick James.

Despite this, The Daily Star revealed that Davison is ‘preparing him for December’s Saudi showdown. This is described as a ‘one-off change of trainer’ as James is ‘fully aware of the plan’.

The report adds: ‘AJ is set to face Swedish southpaw Wallin on December 23 in Saudi Arabia. But James also trains American star Ryan Garcia who has a December 2 date in Houston.

‘So a decision has been made to prepare for the fight in Riyadh in the UK, rather than Joshua travelling to Dallas for camp or James having to come to England.’

In a recent interview, Joshua’s promotor - Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn - revealed Davison has has been a “small part of the team for the last few fights”.

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‘“They get on very well and whilst he’s in the UK he would train with Ben,” Hearn told Boxing Social.

“Derrick James at the moment remains the coach, happy with him, couple of performances and building on that. So no change in that respect.

“Ben’s been working behind the scenes a little bit with AJ tactically on the last few fights. They get on very well. He’s a fantastic coach and I think AJ feels comfortable, whilst he’s in the UK, working with Ben.”