Joshua Is Back To His Best – ‘There’s A Different Animal’
Paulie Malignaggi says Anthony Joshua is a much better fighter since working with Ben Davidson.
Davidson joined Joshua’s team following his fight with Robert Helenius. Although Joshua stopped Helenius, he looked short of confidence. He parted ways with Derrick James as Davidson came in. Davidson and Joshua have had two fights together. Joshua stopped Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou as Joshua’s combination punching came back.
While the level of opposition is questionable, he will face Daniel Dubois on September 21. Dubois became the full IBF Champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt. This allowed Dubois to move up from his interim title. A win for Joshua makes him a three-time world champion and in line for the winner of Fury-Usyk, who fight in the rematch in December. That would allow Joshua to fight for undisputed, a feat he came close to in 2018 when talks with Deontay Wilder began. Talks broke down, but Joshua is a different fighter now.
Joshua’s Form
“I’ll tell you what, AJ with Ben Davison is a bit of a different character, and there’s a different animal there with Anthony Joshua. I like what I’m seeing with Anthony Joshua, so I don’t know that it’s the same AJ that [Oleksandr] Usyk beat twice already. But we’ll see,” Malignaggi said
Joshua could face Fury regardless of the result of their next fight. During a FaceTime call with Fury, they agreed to fight each other next year regardless of belts. Fury has always been the slight favorite, but following his last performance, the odds have shifted somewhat. Carl Froch has always picked Fury to beat Joshua. However, the Gypsy King may not be the same fighter.
Froch On Joshua
Fury was thrown out of a bar in Morecambe after being drunk. He also refused to concede that he had lost, stating that Usyk had been given the decision due to the war in Ukraine. Since then, his brother, Shane Fury, stated that Fury had lost. If Fury were to lose, he might not be the same fighter. Shane has called on his brother to retire after the Usyk fight, regardless of the result, to avoid taking too much punishment in the sport. But if he were to face Joshua, Froch has now given Joshua a slight advantage.
“I’ve always thought Fury beats Joshua. I think he’s too fast, too light on his feet, good movement, more of a natural talent, he’s boxed from a younger age, he has that flair and ability. Joshua is a two time champion, Olympic champion, both lost to Usyk, but out of 24 rounds AJ didn’t win many.
“Fury also lost to Usyk but he gave him a better go. He nearly got stopped in round nine but so did Joshua. Looking at them now, AJ is coming off three or four wins. The fact he has momentum, he has his confidence back, he’s an athlete, he looks like a machine. He takes the sport very seriously,” Froch stated
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