For so long, stability was Anthony Joshua‘s greatest ally in boxing. The British heavyweight is on his third coach in two years with Derrick James ahead of his must-win fight against Jermaine Franklin.
At this point, Joshua is changing trainers more often than a tennis player. It was the constants in his corner that were so integral to his rise to the top of the sport, refining his explosive style of fighting and fear factor that made him one of the most high-profile boxers on Earth.
From Rob McCracken to Robert Garcia and Angel Fernandez to now James, the merry-go-round will have done Joshua no favours in terms of his style, rhythm and confidence.
After Joshua turned on McCracken after his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk and then fell out with Garcia following the rematch, there is massive pressure on James to strike the right balance.
Joshua has not been the same fighter since he was rocked and shaken by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 – he’s lost the swagger and ruthlessness to his game. Aside from his KO victory over Kubrat Pulev in 2020, we haven’t seen the same AJ since. The AJ who takes the fight to his opponent and hammers them with hook after hook.
Anthony Joshua’s lack of stability in his corner has hurt him – costing him his style and swagger
Rob McCracken was his trainer for five years but they parted ways after his coaching and guidance came under scrutiny
From the beginning of his pro career until he was beaten by Usyk he looked in his element and the constant was McCracken – who had guided the British heavyweight to Olympic gold in 2012 and joined forces with him again in 2016 to oversee his rise to world champion.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, they say – and McCracken would argue he had Joshua in pristine condition after overseeing some of his biggest wins against Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and his victorious rematch against Ruiz Jr.
After Joshua was outclassed by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 there were plenty of voices call for him to rip up his coaching team and start again. McCracken and his fellow trainers were torn into by boxing fans and pundits for failing to communicate to Joshua that he was down on the cards.
As a result, Joshua had a relaxed attitude in the fight and didn’t take it to Usyk and instead attempted to outbox the pound-for-pound star.
‘I was being told things like, “Double jab, right, left hook”,’ Joshua said. ‘It wasn’t like, “Take the fight to this f***er, listen you’re losing the fight. You’re down by two rounds”. I didn’t get that.
‘A trainer needs to tap into that psychological aspect now because if you can overcome your mind, you can give more.
‘I’m not blaming anyone by saying that but I didn’t get any impression that I was losing the fight. I thought we were well in it. That’s why when they announced the name I was kind of like “huh?”‘
Joshua wanted a coach who would play it straight to him when it mattered ahead of the Usyk rematch. After years of dominating fights, McCracken never often had to tell his fighter he was losing and needed to step it up.
Joshua was passive in his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk and wrongly believed he was winning
His cornerman Angel Fernandez was kept on but Joshua decided to take a new direction for his lead coach and he and McCracken went their separate ways. After an extensive tour of the United States, Joshua found the trainer he was looking for with Garcia.
Garcia worked closely with Fernandez but the partnership didn’t look like it was built on solid foundations. The Mexican would later reveal there were ‘problems’ in his training camp in the build-up to his second bout against Usyk in Saudi Arabia last year.
He claimed there were ‘so many people’ present in the camp and said he was ‘frustrated’ by ‘everything that went on’ without divulging details.
‘I know that the work with me and Angel Fernandez (assistant coach) wasn’t bad, but it honestly could have been better,’ he said.
‘Nobody mentions everything that went on in training camp, and I’m not going to mention it either. But we all know the way the training camp went. It was frustrating for me, there was so many new people in camp.
‘The first week that I was there, I told his management team to fly me home. Because there were people there who, I believe, were not going to help out.’
Joshua moved to Mexican trainer Robert Garcia – but the pair did not gel and his new coach has made some outspoken remarks about the heavyweight
Garcia could not guide Joshua to victory in his rematch against Usyk and claimed he was ‘mentally defeated’ during the Saudi Arabia bout
When it came to the actual fight, Joshua had the opposite problem he had with McCracken. Garcia was overheard telling his fighter he was three rounds up early on in the showdown, despite most viewers clearly seeing Usyk had won at least one.
Joshua then waited much later on before shifting into his trademark aggression in the eighth and ninth rounds before Usyk ran away with it in the championship rounds. And his bizarre words of criticism in the aftermath did not sit well with the British star.
‘Joshua was mentally defeated since round 10 or 11,’ he said. “Round 10 was a big one for Usyk. That changed the whole fight, and mentally we were defeated.’
Safe to say Garcia was out fairly quickly after that outburst – with another coaching hunt seeing Joshua end up with James – the coach of Errol Spencer Jr and Jermell Charlo.
Joshua lost his cool after the final bell – the calm and precise boxer we knew has vanished
It’s up to Derrick James (L) to help Joshua rediscover his explosive side and return to winning ways against Jermaine Franklin
Multiple changes in quick succession do no favours for any fighter – and if Joshua and James don’t work out, then what? Joshua has to find the right formula and stick to it and he’ll be desperate he’s found it after gruelling weeks in Texas with his new coach.
Now AJ is being immersed in a punishing environment where he is not treated like the golden boy. For too long Joshua was accused of training in comfortable camps where he was worshipped by others.
James has got Joshua chopping wood with an axe as part of James’ old-school methods in the Dallas camp. Eddie Hearn has previously spoken of how AJ was treated ‘like a god’ in previous UK camps and having the ‘red carpet’ treatment. Now he insists Joshua has been ‘humbled’ in James’ camp.
Having worked closely with Spence Jr – who has 22 KOs in 28 fights – you would expect James to bring back that edge in Joshua which has been lost in his recent fights.
Ever since that rematch against Ruiz, we’ve seen him carefully navigate his way through fights and try to outbox his opponents at a distance.
After no wins since 2020, Joshua is desperate to see off the American and set up a fight against Tyson Fury next
Getting on the inside has been a rare sight – perhaps still scarred from being stopped by the Mexican at Madison Square Garden and nearly being floored by Usyk in 2021.
Every British boxing fan wants to see Joshua return to his explosive best against Franklin – especially as a statement win will almost certainly lead to big calls for him to face Tyson Fury next.
But James has insisted he doesn’t care how his man gets the job done against the American, as long as he picks up the victory.
‘I really don’t care how we get the win; I just care that we get it,’ he said at their final press conference. ‘Initially he’s just going in there and it’s all about winning the fight. Regardless of how he wins, I don’t care about that. I just care that he comes out victorious.’
James is right. After back-to-back losses and no wins since 2020, all Joshua needs from his coach is to guide him to a precious win.
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