Anthony Joshua has confirmed that he is no longer training with Ben Davison and is instead working with Oleksandr Usyk's team ahead of his fight against Jake Paul in December.
Joshua had worked alongside Davison since 2023 and the boxing coach was in the corner when AJ was defeated by Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
Rumours surfaced in recent months suggesting Joshua, who has a history of making drastic changes to his team, was set take his business elsewhere as he plotted his path back into the ring following a lengthy injury lay-off, and the two-time heavyweight champion has confirmed he and Davison have made the amicable decision to split.
In the Joshua v Paul pre-fight press conference, Joshua said: "No, Ben Davison won't be there - I said that being in London was too distracting for me, so I have been doing some work with Team Usyk in Spain.
"He [Oleksandr] is one of the best in the world, actually no, he is the best in the world, so I wanted to surround myself with him and his people to gain an insight into everything he has achieved.
It's been phenomenal. Igor [Vovchanchyn] will be in my corner on fight night. I've been with them for a couple of months now.
Davison gave a blunt assessment on the shock announcement that Joshua was set to fight Paul in an eight-round heavyweight contest in Miami next month.
“It’s a bit like Floyd [Mayweather] when he boxed [Conor] McGregor. He was like, ‘I’m robbing a bank’. I think he came out in a ski mask," Davison said.
"If they’re going to pay him [Joshua] ridiculous money to do that [fight Paul], then it’s going to spike a bit of interest.
"In terms of the fight, Francis Ngannou’s one of the most durable men on the planet, and look what happened there [in March 2024]. I don’t think it’s good for boxing, if I’m honest.
"[Joshua] could play with him if he wanted to, or dispatch him.”
