Roy Jones Jr believes Anthony Joshua “has a lot left” but that, if he is to defeat Tyson Fury, the 36-year-old will need to adapt his style.
The two British heavyweights are expected to finally lock horns on December 11, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium the most likely destination.
Several weeks ago, fans were told their long-awaited showdown would be heading to New York’s Madison Square Garden but, now, it would appear that both combatants have agreed to collide in the UK.
More importantly, it seems Netflix and Saudi Arabian organisers Sela are committed to abandoning their American dream and staging the event on British soil.
Whatever the location, though, Fury is likely to be made a sizable favourite following his seventh-round stoppage of Mariusz Wach in July.
Joshua, on the other hand, was compelled to survive two knockdowns before scoring a second-round finish against Kristian Prenga that same weekend.
But while many have since accused ‘AJ’ of being ‘shopworn’, or words to similar effect, pound-for-pound legend Jones has told Parimatch that he believes the knockout artist remains capable of stopping Fury.
“I want to see whether Joshua is able to land a big punch to knock Fury out, or if Fury’s able to be smart enough to get in his head and outbox Joshua.
“I don’t know how it’s gonna play out but, to win the fight, I think AJ needs to win it by knockout. Fury could also hurt Joshua early to get Joshua afraid, then Fury’s gonna be able to outbox him. So whoever goes out and implements their plan first is gonna win the fight.
“Joshua has a lot left. It’s just that they’re not getting him ready physically and mentally to deal with taking punches or be defensively inclined. If you made him defensively inclined before he attacks, he wouldn’t get caught with those big punches.
“With Tyson Fury, SugarHill [Steward] has helped him develop his punching power a little bit.”
In terms of Joshua’s training camp, the two-time world champion was previously working with Team Usyk but, now, it appears he could be leaning on the assistance of former head coach Ben Davison.
