Anthony Joshua has reached retired to respected trainer Ronnie Shields successful a bid to resurrect his vocation and reclaim his heavyweight belts.
In the aftermath of his daze nonaccomplishment to Oleksandr Usyk past month, Joshua's longtime manager Rob McCracken came nether occurrence for his strategy successful the unanimous determination decision to the overmuch lighter and quicker Ukrainian.
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It's understood galore questions were raised arsenic to wherefore the Brit tried to outbox Usyk, catering to his opponent's strengths. It was wide accepted Joshua should person utilized his size vantage to bully the erstwhile cruiserweight turned heavyweight champ.
Joshua was photographed successful the US precocious with Shields and visited the trainer astatine his Houston base, to gauge whether the 2 person chemistry.
Shields presently works with Jermall Charlo and utilized to bid erstwhile satellite champion Arturo Gatti arsenic good arsenic heavyweight legends Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
Joshua reportedly besides considered Canelo Alvarez's trainer Eddy Reynoso, who besides present trains the antheral who handed Joshua his archetypal ever loss, Andy Ruiz Jr.
Shields and Joshua reportedly enjoyed introductory sessions arsenic the erstwhile champion tries to devise a program to antagonistic the velocity and question of Usyk.
Shields said helium dissected Joshua's nonaccomplishment and highlighted ways helium tin amended successful a 2 time gym session.
"They reached retired to me, and they asked if I would beryllium funny successful taking a look astatine AJ and that helium wanted to travel down to Texas and spot if things would enactment retired betwixt him and I," Shields told Thaboxingvoice.
"I said, "No problem, I would emotion to spot if we had a transportation together.
"It would beryllium large to get him to reclaim the satellite titles helium mislaid to Usyk and I deliberation I've got the capabilities to assistance him bash that," Shields added.
"I deliberation our chemistry was truly good, but I'm not going to suffer slumber implicit [whether helium chooses me]."
Shields said Joshua was receptive to the proposal helium offered up.
"The archetypal time we talked for astir 3 oregon 4 hours and erstwhile helium came backmost contiguous we did immoderate airy pad enactment to amusement him everything we talked about.
"You person to beryllium capable to amusement a combatant what you truly mean and however helium should bash things. We did immoderate airy enactment and I enactment him done immoderate drills to assistance him recognize what I'd told him the time before.
"For me, it's astir the crippled plan. We talked astir a batch of stuff, and we watched a fewer rounds of the Usyk combat together. I pointed retired a fewer things that helium should person done, but helium didn't do.
"It surprises maine that a feline who was heavyweight champion of the satellite don't cognize definite things.
"Like helium said, 'European boxing is antithetic from boxing successful the United States.' He realised that helium had to travel to the United States to get thing different.
"I don't cognize what their crippled program was, but evidently it wasn't the close 1 and I conjecture helium didn't consciousness similar it was the close 1 truthful this is wherefore helium wanted to marque a change."
Usyk and Joshua person agreed connected a rematch, which is bound to beryllium held aboriginal adjacent year, with the Brit hopeless to reclaim his titles successful bid to acceptable up a massive unification bout with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
In different news, Britain's Dillian Whyte has withdrawn from his scheduled combat with Sweden's Otto Wallin successful London connected October 30, aft suffering a should wounded successful grooming camp.
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