Anthony Joshua’s new trainer Derrick James admits he was LAUGHING at the Brit’s tactics against Oleksandr Usyk and feels he could have masterminded a win… as he reveals AJ is learning from southpaw stablemate Errol Spence ahead of his return to the ring
- Derrick James was unimpressed by Joshua’s tactics in his defeats against Usyk
- The American believes he could have helped Joshua beat Usyk if he’d trained him
- James has said that Joshua is keen to learn from welterweight champion Spence
Anthony Joshua‘s new trainer Derrick James has admitted he was bemused by the Brit’s tactics in his two defeats against Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua and James have teamed up following the former’s back-to-back losses to Usyk, which saw him first lose a unanimous decision in September 2021 before being beaten in the rematch last August.
Many observers felt the two-time heavyweight champion performed better the second time around, but James believes he did not do himself justice due to the tactics he deployed.
‘When I saw him in the Usyk fight, I thought, “What the heck is he doing?” I’m laughing,’ the American told the DAZN Boxing Show.
James was then pushed on whether he could have coached Joshua to a win, to which he replied: ‘Yeah, because I train two left hand fighters.’
Derrick James was bemused by the tactics that Anthony Joshua used against Oleksandr Usyk
James (left) will be in Joshua’s corner when he faces Jermaine Franklin in April in London
The two fighters James is referring to are unified welterweight champion Errol Spence and lightweight contender Frank Martin.
James has revealed that Joshua is eager to learn from Spence as he prepares to return to the ring against American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin on April 1.
‘They’re good, they talk,’ James said of the relationship between Joshua and Spence.
‘Errol asks him a couple of questions. When Errol is hitting the bag, working out, AJ is watching him. It’s like a mutual respect. That’s what most guys need to get to the next level or get that thing back that they had before. Even with Errol, he sees him doing some things, and they both work off each other.
‘In the last four years, there’s been no gym with two unified champs, especially with an undisputed champ, especially with two champs period in the same gym.
‘Frank [Martin] is right there at #1 [at lightweight], so he’s right there to be inspired by all that stuff right there.’
Joshua spent over a decade under the guidance of head trainer Rob McCracken as an amateur and a professional, but was only with Robert Garcia for the Usyk rematch before turning to James.
James has revealed Joshua is eager to learn from unified welterweight champion Errol Spence
James appears confident that he will be with Joshua for the long haul, and is adamant that he can get him back to the top of the heavyweight division.
‘I really took this job because I feel like I can help him. Everybody feels like they can help him, it’s all about strategies,’ James said.
‘The initial things that you work on are things that are not even physical. You can’t even see it. It’s things that are really small, and you build from there. When you work on one thing in particular, everything blossoms behind that.
‘Spending time together, listening to him talk, and then filling those spaces that need to be filled.’
