Wardley: Davison could help AJ with ‘inside knowledge’ of Fury

Fabio Wardley suggested trainer Ben Davison could help Anthony Joshua with “some inside knowledge” going into his fight with Tyson Fury.

Trainer Davison has previously worked with Joshua and Fury, but he will be in Joshua’s corner for their long-waited heavyweight showdown at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11.

Wardley, the former WBO heavyweight champion who also works with Davison, understands Joshua’s reasoning.

“Your trainer, irrespective of working with people previously is a huge factor going into the fight,” Wardley told Sky Sports News.

“There will be some inside knowledge, however applicable that is and however it’s used in the fight, maybe, maybe not. It always depends on the fighter you have in front of you.

“You play to their strengths, not to the opponent’s weaknesses.”

Fury called Davison a “traitor” but former world champion George Groves didn’t consider that fair.

“Of course he’s not. He’s worked with almost all the heavyweights and I’d imagine Fury left Davison rather than the other way round. It’s just more banter, not that the fight needs it,” Groves told Sky Sports.

Joshua has recently worked with Oleksandr Usyk’s training team before bringing Davison back to his corner on fight night, but Groves thinks Joshua has made the correct decision.

“When they’re in the corner and he needs some advice maybe Ben Davison giving it to him feels a little bit more familiar than it does from, say, an Usyk Team or an American rent-a-coach or one of those guys,” Groves said.

“You can find more established, on paper better coaches than Ben Davison but sometimes if crisis hits you want to have a familiar voice so that’s why Ben Davison gets the call.

“It’s probably the right move.”

Should Fury-AJ be a world title fight?

Wardley can regain the WBO heavyweight title in his rematch with Daniel Dubois on Saturday.

Fury vs Joshua will also have a world title at stake, the WBA ‘super’ belt, and Wardley hopes he can earn a fight against the winner by defeating Dubois at The O2.

“It is a fight worthy of a world title. Where were they in the rankings, do they perfectly deserve it – that’s more a question maybe for the WBA,” Wardley said of Fury-Joshua.

“Does them two coming together deserve a world title on the line? It probably does. Does it add an extra incentive, an extra bauble for either one of them and for us as a public to speak about it and say if they win they’re going to win a world title?

“And then does that mean they then carry on and start to taking on the likes of myself or [Filip] Hrgovic or [Agit] Kabayel or who knows?”