Anthony Joshua is welcoming more people into his team ahead of his mega fight against Tyson Fury.
The two former heavyweight world champions will meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11 for their very own Battle of Britain.
‘AJ’ enters the bout off the back of a win over little-known Kristian Prenga in July, which marked his first proper fight under the guidance of Team Oleksandr Usyk, having previously worked with the Ukrainian’s coaching team for his sideshow bout with Jake Paul last year.
However, changes in Joshua’s corner could soon be cemented.
After it was confirmed that he would be returning to work in some capacity with Ben Davison – who trained Fury during his comeback from 2018 to 2019 and ‘AJ’ from 2023 until 2024 – Joshua has now also revealed that ‘The Gypsy King’s uncle and ex-coach, Peter Fury, could be involved.
Speaking at a media roundtable ahead of today’s launch press conference, the heavyweight star said:
“I speak to Peter Fury. He’s willing to help me as well. Yeah, I’ll speak to him. I last spoke to him about a month ago. I speak to Matty Harris quite a lot and he is trained by Peter so that’s how it call came about; through Matty and Peter.
“I’m going to take everything with a pinch of salt. Going to Ben and Peter is not so much because they have worked with Fury before but because they can pinpoint things.
“What I’ve got to do is take control of my fight with Fury, but also add their touch. And with these two powerhouses coming together, I think it will be a match made in heaven. I do believe that.”
Taking over the corner in 2012, Peter introduced strict conditioning and focused on lateral movement, distance control, and upper-body defence, teaching the 6ft 9in fighter how to utilise his size and switch stances effectively.
It was the style that led to a shutout against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 when Tyson became unified world champion.
On the big heavyweight stage, Peter most recently prepared kickboxer Rico Verhoeven for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk, coming close to scoring a monumental upset before the Ukrainian forced an eleventh round stoppage.
Though the additions to Joshua’s arsenal are definitely intriguing, many feel his switching of trainers – he has had four since splitting with Rob McCracken after his first Usyk loss in 2021 – is a negative.
How the 34-year-old’s all-star coaching plans play out on fight night remains to be seen, with an official head trainer yet to be confirmed.
