For the most part, Anthony Joshua’s career has been flooded with a perpetual amount of praise. From his hulking physique to his ability to separate his foes from their consciousness, Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) has essentially been the heavyweight division’s golden child. However, despite his praises being sung, Andy Ruiz Jr. revealed several cracks in his armour.
On June 1st, 2019, Joshua attempted to dominate his competition stateside. Ultimately, Ruiz would go on to spoil his U.S. debut, flooring Joshua on three occasions before stopping his man in the seventh round. Although he would make amends in their immediate rematch, Oleksandr Usyk accentuated even more flaws.
With back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Ukrainian, Joshua has been lambasted for what many have described as a listless effort. Now, anxious to return to the win column, Joshua has enlisted the help of a world-renowned trainer, Derrick James.
Although his first assignment will come in the form of Jermaine Franklin on April 1st, many have wondered whether or not James will implore Joshua to up his level of aggression and not only show a willingness to bang it out but also a dog-like mentality.
James though is confused as to why Joshua’s critics have continued to push him to stand and bang. In his view, being a bull in the China shop doesn’t always lead to stellar results.
“He just has to be the best version of himself,” said James to Seconds Out during a recent interview. “And that’s not necessarily a dog because dogs are not always intelligent. A dog would fight a bear. He’s gonna lose the fight but he’s gonna fight a bear.”
Currently, James’ stable features some of the boxing world’s most recognizable stars unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and undisputed junior middleweight kingpin, Jermell Charlo.
By and large, both titlists are aggressive by nature. However, James has helped mold them over the years. The results, of course, have been spectacular. In the case of Joshua, James is hoping to do much of the same. While he fully acknowledges that Joshua has plenty of God-given talent, James believes that Joshua’s brawn, coupled with his brains, could lead to another victorious run.
“You have to be intelligent, you have to be smart and choose the right tactics and choose the right whatever to be successful.”
Story by George spoke Boateng
