Prior to Anthony Joshua’s fight with Otto Wallin in December, it was not exactly clear which direction the Brit’s career was heading.
In his previous four fights, Joshua had worked with three different trainers, and not looked entirely convincing with any of them in his corner.
Joshua’s long-term coach Rob McCracken was dumped after his first loss to Oleksandr Usyk, and Robert Garcia couldn’t change the result in the rematch. In came another American, Derrick James, but Joshua still only laboured to wins over fringe contenders Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius.
When the two-time heavyweight champion announced he would be trying another trainer to take on Wallin, it appeared he was lacking clarity on how he wanted to go about his business.
But Joshua proved the doubters wrong. With the highly-rated Ben Davison in his corner, AJ looked back to his brutal best as he broke down his opponent and forced the Swede’s corner to throw in the towel after five rounds.
Anthony Joshua teamed up with Ben Davison (left) for his last fight against Otto Wallin
Joshua produced his best performance in years as he stopped Wallin after five rounds
Davison is set to be in Joshua’s corner again when he fights Francis Ngannou next week
It was undoubtedly Joshua’s finest performance in years, and Davison earned plenty of plaudits for his corner work.
He will be by Joshua’s side again when the Olympic gold medallist faces Francis Ngannou in a huge crossover fight in Saudi Arabia next Friday, with fans eager to see if Joshua can continue his resurgence.
Davison’s track record suggests there is every chance that Joshua will shine once more.
Fascinatingly, his rise to prominence all started with Joshua’s heavyweight rival, Tyson Fury.
That’s right, Davison was with Fury every step of the way when he returned to the ring in 2018 after a three-year absence that saw him balloon up in weight and deal with mental health problems.
Few gave Fury a chance of being the fighter he once was, but Davison got him back into top condition and masterminded the gameplan that earned the Gypsy King a draw in his first meeting with Deontay Wilder in December 2018.
Many observers felt Fury did enough to win that bout, which famously saw him somehow rise from the canvas after a heavy knockdown in the final round.
Davison previously trained Tyson Fury as he made his comeback to the ring in 2018
Few expected Fury to return the same, but Davison got the Gypsy King back into top condition
Fury and Davison would work together for two more fights afterwards, but their relationship ended when Fury produced a below-par display during a points win against Wallin.
Fury has since gone on to beat Wilder twice and is just weeks away from facing Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight crown, but Davison’s role in getting him back on his feet should not be underestimated.
Davison hasn’t rested on his laurels either. He has taken Leigh Wood from a domestic featherweight prospect to world honours, with the Nottingham-based boxer securing high-profile wins against Michael Conlan, Mauricio Lara and Josh Warrington.
He has also coached former world champions Billy Joe Saunders and Josh Taylor, and was drafted in to be part of American pound-for-pound star Devin Haney’s team for his super-lightweight fight against Regis Prograis in December. Haney proceeded to dominate the contest, knocking down his opponent on the way to a lopsided points victory.
Davison has consistently got the best out of his charges, and the early signs with Joshua have been very positive.
Davison has taken Leigh Wood (pictured) from being a domestic fighter to a world champion
Davison also worked with former world champion Billy Joe Saunders
He was also in the corner for ex-undisputed super-lightweight champion Josh Taylor (right)
Having looked cautious and ponderous before the Wallin fight, Joshua appeared reinvigorated in his latest outing, dominating from start to finish.
That performance indicated that he has now closed the gap to Fury and Usyk, and with Davison in his corner he has reasons to be optimistic that he could devise a gameplan to topple Fury in the future.
Joshua and Fury have both claimed they want to fight each other, and it seems the obvious match-up if they can beat Ngannou and Usyk, respectively.
Fury would likely enter as favourite, but it would be foolish to write off Joshua, especially with Davison’s inside knowledge.
Davison knows all of Fury’s strengths and weaknesses from watching him train on a daily basis, and would be able to pass on this knowledge.
Whether this would be enough for Joshua to overcome Fury remains to be seen, but he could not have a better man to call upon for advice on how to beat the imposing, undefeated heavyweight.
But first, Joshua must get past Ngannou, and that will be no easy feat. The former UFC champion nearly pulled off one of the biggest shocks in boxing history when he knocked down Fury before losing a razor-thin points decision just four months ago.
Ngannou knocked down Fury in their bout last year and won’t be an easy opponent for Joshua
A win for Joshua would take him one step closer to a meeting with Fury, and he could not ask for a better man in the corner than Davison to take down the Gypsy King
The Cameroonian-born star will be riding the crest of a wave after that performance, and truly believes he is going to beat Joshua.
If Joshua is overlooking Ngannou due to a potential Fury clash being on the horizon, he could come unstuck.
Davison is unlikely to allow that to happen, though, and will have made it his mission to ensure Joshua is meticulously prepared.
That should be enough for Joshua to pick up a statement win, and then he and Davison can set their sights firmly on Fury.