Former four division world champion Roy Jones Jr. – who now trains fighters such as Chris Eubank Jr. – believes that he’s got has a lot to offer as a coach to British superstar Anthony Joshua.
Last year, Joshua parted ways with longtime trainer Robert McCracken after suffering a twelve round decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua would eventually hire veteran trainer Robert Garcia, who prepared the former two-time heavyweight champion for his August rematch with Usyk.
Joshua did better in the rematch, but he still came out on the losing end of a twelve round decision.
A few months have passed, and Joshua is once again hunting for a new trainer after parting ways with Garcia.
In the last few weeks, Joshua has been seen working with the likes of Virgil Hunter and Derrick James in the United States.
“We spoke and I do have a plan for him,” Jones told Boxing Social. “I haven’t told him yet, but if he likes the way that we get along in the gym, then for me, any fighter he fights is going to be a big fight anyway.
“But, you got to go with guys who are not quite as good as [Oleksandr] Usyk or Tyson Fury yet. We need two good fights to get yourself back into motion and they’ll be good fights, they won’t be no stroll fights they’ll be good fights.
“Then we go after either Usyk or Fury, whoever wins, but we do need two good fights to get him back and I already got two fights in my mind that I want, but I’ve got to talk to him and make sure that he is in agreement.”
In a recent interview with ID Boxing, Joshua was not fully sold on the idea of hiring Jones as his next trainer.
“I respect Roy, highly, what a man, what a talent, what a fighter. But with that being said, that doesn’t mean that just because of that, he is qualified to train me. That is where it ends really, but I’d love to see his work and we go from there,” Joshua said.
Jones, who also spoke to ID Boxing, believes that he can bring a lot to the table.
“What can I not bring? I’m one of the greatest to ever do it, I did whatever I wanted to do. So I can show you how to do whatever I want you to because I did whatever I wanted to when I got ready and who was gonna stop me? Nobody,” Jones said.
“Why? Because they didn’t understand, so what can I not bring to him? For me to hear people say ‘oh, we don’t know man’… If I can’t teach you, you don’t want to learn.”