Former world welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has been impressed by what he has seen from heavyweight Anthony Joshua, and he believes he will be a real problem for Tyson Fury should the fighters meet in the ring.
Joshua laid waste to former MMA star Francis Ngannou last Friday in Saudi Arabia, but Fury struggled against the same opponent last October, climbing off the canvas to outpoint Ngannou over 10 rounds.
“The last version that we saw of Tyson Fury, that guy doesn’t beat AJ,” Bradley told ProBox TV. “And I’m not sure that Tyson Fury is going to get past [Oleksandr] Usyk [on May 18]. I don’t know which form of Fury we’re going to get. But if Fury is to beat Usyk, of course, they’ve got a rematch [Fury and Usyk have a two-fight agreement]. But I want to see a King of England. I want to see Tyson and AJ go head-to-head. I want to see who’s the best of England, if not the world.
“Obviously [Joshua]’s not better than Usyk; Usyk beat him twice. But this version of Joshua that we’re seeing – and I know how some of you are, saying, ‘Well, he was supposed to do that to Ngannou,’ I get it. But have you seen this guy’s run and what he’s been able to do in the last year, last year and a half? He’s looked fantastic.”
Joshua has fought four times in 11 months and has looked better each time. More to the point, Bradley and other observers are noticing changes in his demeanor – particularly in Joshua’s confidence levels.
Joshua lost his titles to Usyk while being trained by Robert McCracken. He then tried to win them back with Robert Garcia in his corner. Joshua then linked up with Derrick James, but in the last two fights – against Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou – he has worked with Ben Davison.
“We look back at some of the things we said in the past, about [Joshua] switching trainers and ‘Trainers are not the issue, it’s him, it’s him, it’s him,’” Bradley said. “I realize that the actual trainer switches were fantastic for his career, because he took a little bit of knowledge from each of these trainers. Whether he was with them one camp, two camps, three camps, it didn’t matter. He took a little bit of knowledge from these guys and he packed it all in one.
“Now he’s with Ben Davison, who is, I believe, one of the best younger trainers out there, who understands the sweet science of boxing. He understands that one plus one is two; a lot of these trainers don’t understand that. And he’s comfortable and relaxed, and I think Ben Davison has transformed his mentality. That’s what it boils down to with AJ.
“AJ has always had decent skills, but I think his skill set is a little more now than it was. But more importantly, it’s that confidence that he has, and Ben Davison, I believe, has something to do with that. That’s the reason why we’
