British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua has revealed that he has parted ways with his previous coaching team and is now training with Oleksandr Usyk’s camp ahead of his upcoming fight against Jake Paul in Miami on December 19.
The two-time former world champion confirmed the move during a press conference on Friday, explaining that he has been preparing alongside members of Usyk’s coaching setup — the same team that masterminded his two previous defeats to the Ukrainian boxer.
The fight, set to stream globally on Netflix, will mark Joshua’s first return to the ring since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium fifteen months ago.
Addressing media speculation about changes to his corner, Joshua confirmed that he will no longer be working with his former trainers, Ben Davison and Lee Wylie.
“No, I won’t be trained by Ben Davison,” Joshua said. “I said that London is a bit distracting for me, so I was invited to train with Team Usyk.”
The 34-year-old fighter said the change of environment has already had a major impact on his mindset and preparation.
“I’ve been in Spain, we’ve been doing some good training, and I think he’s one of the best in the world… Not I think, he is one of the best in the world,” Joshua noted, referring to Usyk. “It’s also down to the team around him, so I linked up with them.”
Describing his new training experience, Joshua said it has been both challenging and enlightening.
“Getting an insight into how someone who’s achieved so much has been phenomenal. It’s been a great experience and very challenging,” he added.
Joshua confirmed that he has been working with Usyk’s team for “a couple of months now”, though clarified that he and Usyk are not training together directly.
“No, I don’t spar with Usyk. He’s training somewhere else at the minute. He’s been in camp, but he’s in and out of camp, so right now, he’s training somewhere else,” Joshua said.
Joshua’s upcoming bout against Jake Paul is expected to draw global attention, as it marks one of the most high-profile crossover boxing events of the year and his first fight since restructuring his training strategy.
