Errol Spence Jr has revealed that Derrick James sometimes needs to rein in Anthony Joshua during training sessions, such is the heavyweight’s desire to keep learning.
Joshua parted ways with long-time coach Rob McCracken in 2022, before working with Robert Garcia in the lead-up to a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk last August. The result was the same for “AJ”, however, as the Briton fell to a decision defeat by the Ukrainian, just as he had in 2021.
Joshua, 33, then switched coaches again this year, partnering with James ahead of an April bout with Jermaine Franklin. After training under James in Dallas, Joshua outpointed Franklin in London to get back to winning ways. And Joshua is now back in the US, preparing for an August rematch with Dillian Whyte, whom he knocked out in 2015.
Spence, a long-time pupil of James, has been training alongside Joshua ahead of Saturday’s undisputed-title fight with Terence Crawford, and the unified welterweight champion told The Independent this week: “I never had any thoughts about him [in the past], but AJ’s a cool dude. He’s very cool, level-headed.
“He trains hard. Derrick has said to him to calm down or, ‘That’s enough for today,’ because he’s always trying to learn new things.
“I feel like training over here with Derrick is a lot different for him than when he was training in the UK. I think Derrick’s teaching him new things.
Hinting at criticism of Joshua’s performance against Franklin, which was somewhat laboured, Spence added: “[These new things] aren’t gonna be apparent in the first fight he had with Derrick, but it’s definitely gonna become apparent as they go on with his career.”
Meanwhile, Ryan Garcia recently joined James’s gym, having split from his previous coach after a stoppage loss to Gervonta Davis in April.
Jermell Charlo, who will fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September, is also part of James’s stable.
TNT Sports Box Office will show Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford exclusively live on Saturday 29 July. Learn more at https://www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice
