![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SEI_314758077-76e7.jpg\")
\n\t\tJoshua and Fury finally go to war on 11 December (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tJoshua and Fury finally go to war on 11 December (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi has defended Anthony Joshua<\/a>\u2019s trainer Ben Davison \u2013 but is not convinced they are the right fit ahead of December\u2019s showdown with Tyson Fury<\/a>.<\/p>\n Davison will be in Joshua\u2019s corner for the Battle of Britain on 11 December having previously worked with \u2018The Gypsy King\u2019 when he returned to boxing in 2018.<\/a><\/p>\n Davison trained Fury for five fights before the latter turned to Sugar Hill Steward, the man who has guided his career ever since.<\/p>\n Since parting ways with Fury, Davison has worked with some of boxing\u2019s biggest names and cornered Moses Itauma and Fabio Wardley in their world title fights this year.<\/p>\n Both heavyweights failed to get over the line, however, with Itauma running out of gas in his IBF title battle with Filip Hrgovic in August, stopped in the ninth round<\/a>. Wardley meanwhile was halted by Daniel Dubois<\/a> in May with Davison forced to throw in the towel less than two rounds into the rematch<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n Davison has led Joshua\u2019s camp for three of his last five fights \u2013 with \u2018AJ\u2019 briefly linking up with Team Usyk for his last two outings against Jake Paul<\/a> and Kristian Prenga. Their last fight together ended in a devastating defeat to Dubois in September 2024 but the two have linked up again with Fury waiting.<\/p>\n While Davison\u2019s methods have been questioned, Malignaggi rates him as a \u2018good trainer\u2019 \u2013 but perhaps not the right one for Joshua.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018There are some mental games there, because Davison was in Fury\u2019s corner for a while,\u2019 Malignaggi told Metro via Parimatch<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018But he\u2019s also a good technical trainer. I don\u2019t know that Joshua\u2019s style necessarily meshes with Davison\u2019s technical style.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tAsk Metro<\/p>\n Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about \u2013 powered by Metro and trusted publications.<\/p>\n \u2018Davison, for me, is probably a really good trainer for an athletic-style fighter. Joshua\u2019s a bit cumbersome and stiff at times. Tyson Fury actually uses more of an athletic style as a heavyweight than Joshua does. We\u2019ve seen Davison with guys like Devin Haney, and I think slick boxers and athletic fighters benefit from his approach.<\/p>\n \u2018With Wardley, I think he was always going to be up against it. With Itauma, how responsible can a trainer be for his fighter\u2019s conditioning? You make them spar and get them sharp, and Itauma was sharp.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018But the fighter\u2019s conditioning and heart are also on the fighter, and on experience. Knowing how to judge your gas tank and pace yourself for the distance comes with experience, and Itauma didn\u2019t have much of that.<\/p>\n \u2018So I think Davison\u2019s a good trainer. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s the right trainer for Joshua, but it\u2019ll create a talking point because he used to be in Tyson Fury\u2019s corner.\u2019<\/p>\n Joshua has worked with four different training teams in the last four years having parted ways with Rob McCracken after his first defeat to Usyk in 2021.<\/p>\n He linked up with Robert Garcia for his rematch against the Ukrainian before turning to Derrick James in Texas for fights against Jermaine Franklin<\/a> and Robert Helenius.<\/p>\n His last five fights have been overseen by Davison and members of Usyk\u2019s elite training team.<\/p>\n McCracken guided Joshua to his London 2012 Olympic gold success and remained at his side throughout his rise through the professional ranks, becoming a two-time world champion under his tutelage.<\/p>\n Their time together was the most stable and successful spell of \u2018AJ\u2019s career but former world champion Carl Froch fears Joshua has not been able to build the same sort of relationship with a trainer since.<\/p>\n \u2018I don\u2019t think Rob McCracken would have him back,\u2019 Froch told Metro via BetVictor Online Casino<\/a>, having spent his entire career working with the Performance Director of GB Boxing.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018That ship has sailed. Rob took AJ from the amateurs, Olympic gold medal, world heavyweight champion, and then AJ decided he needed to go somewhere else. That\u2019s his choice, and if he thought Rob wasn\u2019t working for him then fair enough, but you can\u2019t always go back afterwards and expect everything to be the same.<\/p>\n \u2018Rob was more than just a bloke holding the pads, he was somebody AJ trusted and listened to. Since that relationship ended, he\u2019s had different trainers, different voices, different ideas, and I don\u2019t think he\u2019s ever really found that same connection again.\u2019<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"RIYADH,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SEI_233977065-1ddb.jpg\")
\n\t\tDavison counts Moses Itauma among his fighters (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Editorial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793228894_696_SEI_314846400-48a0.jpg\")
\n\t\tDavison has worked with both Fury and Joshua (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"HANDOUT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PRI_175589737-de03.jpg\")
\n\t\tMcCracken trained Joshua for his first 26 fights (Picture: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)<\/p>\n
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