Anthony Joshua’s trainer, Ben Davison, revealed to TalkSport the frustrating issues the team faced in the lead-up to their defeat last September.
Few all-British clashes command the attention of an entire nation, but Joshua’s showdown with Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in 2024 was one of them.
The two giant heavyweights shared an intriguing historical rivalry heading into their world title bout, with many wondering whether Dubois, entering as the IBF champion, could claim the biggest scalp of his career by defeating Joshua.
Despite the intrigue leading up to the bout, few could have predicted the dominant and confident performance delivered by the defending champion, who scored four knockdowns and stopped AJ in the fifth round in front of a record crowd of 92,000 spectators.
The victory felt like liftoff for Dubois and his ambition to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion from these shores since Lennox Lewis, echoing shades of Joshua’s landmark win at Wembley Stadium against Wladimir Klitschko.
Dubois now finds himself just one win away from fulfilling those dreams, as he prepares to rematch WBC, WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine world champion Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley this July.
For Joshua, the defeat saw him slip down the heavyweight pecking order, leaving him with another daunting climb to reach the summit of the division once more.
Ben Davison Shares Frustration On AJ Defeat
Ben Davison, regarded as one of Britain’s top boxing coaches, has overseen numerous major victories throughout his career, but he revealed that frustrating preparations ahead of the stadium showdown impacted results on the night.
“He was very very late arriving to the changing room for unforeseen circumstances and it was a major rush which wasn’t ideal,” said Davison.
“Maybe that had an impact on his ring walk I can’t say yes or no, its not an excuse but maybe the fact he was extremely late didn’t help.”
