Ex-coach Derrick James: Joshua must be 'smart' against Fury – and will be in Cardiff
Derrick James, who guided Anthony Joshua past Franklin and Helenius, urges mobility and counter-punching against Fury. He will attend in Cardiff – and admits he is biased.
Archive image · Photo: Bill / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Derrick James, who trained Anthony Joshua after his two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, has given FightHype his view of the clash with Tyson Fury at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on 11 December. According to Boxing News, his main demand is brains: "AJ has to be smart, he has to be intelligent, he has to use his mobility."
Joshua must be technically and defensively sound, counter-punch and use his angles, James said, adding that Joshua has "very fast hands and very fast feet". His verdict is not neutral: "I am a big fan of AJ, I am going to the fight. I love him and I am going for him, so I am a little biased!"
Under James, Joshua outpointed Jermaine Franklin and knocked out Robert Helenius before they parted ways. For the Fury fight Joshua is working with, among others, Ben Davison, Fury's former trainer.