ANTHONY JOSHUA has been told he blundered by sticking with trainer Rob McCracken ahead of tonight’s rematch against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Kellie Maloney helped Britain’s greatest heavyweight Lennox Lewis rebuild his career after a shock first defeat.
AJ insists that Rob McCracken (left) is more than a trainerCredit: PA:Press Association
Kellie Maloney knows all about boxers bouncing back from shock defeatsCredit: Dan Charity – The Sun
And she warned AJ and McCracken are too close and familiar with one another.
Joshua attempts to regain the WBA, IBF and WBO world title belts he lost to Ruiz last summer when they clash in Saudi Arabia.
Manager Maloney and Lewis instantly fired cornerman Pepe Correa after the Brit’s stunning second-round knockout by Oliver McCall at Wembley in 1994.
They replaced him with Detroit fight guru Emanuel Steward.
Maloney — who was fast-talking Frank during ten years guiding Lewis before gender reassignment — makes the comparison between Joshua and Leicester’s Premier League champions of 2016.
She said: “He was in the right place at the right to time to win the heavyweight title against Charles Martin that same year.
“But if I was Joshua I would have changed my training team after Ruiz beat him in June.
“You can’t learn if you stay with the same team. You’ve got to change something.
Your trainer can’t be your friend. It should be a business arrangement. It has to be.
Kellie Maloney
“Lennox said it was like going to university when he teamed up with Emanuel.
“There was an instant change as soon as they started working together. Emanuel lifted Lennox. He lifted me and everybody in the camp.
“We didn’t always see eye to eye but he brought something that was missing. He regenerated Lennox’s career.
“One thing was clear, though, Emanuel was the boss in the gym.
“I was concerned when I saw last week that AJ had said McCracken is more than a trainer — he’s a friend.
“Your trainer can’t be your friend. It should be a business arrangement. It has to be.
“There was always a Plan A and a Plan B in the ring for Lennox. There was no Plan B for AJ in New York.
“I’m not knocking AJ’s trainer but he doesn’t have the experience Emanuel possessed. Joshua has not improved.”
I TOLD LEW
Steward built the famed Kronk Gym and schooled 41 world champs including Lewis, Thomas Hearns and Wladimir Klitschko.
Under his guidance Lewis regained the WBC title in a 1997 Las Vegas rematch when McCall burst into tears in the ring.
Londoner Lewis became the undisputed champion by beating Evander Holyfield two years later — but then suffered another shock defeat when Hasim Rahman KO’d him in South Africa in April 2001. Lewis avenged that setback with a fourth-round knockout win six months later.
Maloney — who this week renewed her manager’s licence with the British Boxing Board of Control and plans to return next year — recalled: “There was a big problem in the gym before the McCall defeat.
“I didn’t think Correa was teaching Lennox anything — and the inevitable happened.
“Then before the Rahman defeat I advised he go to Johannesburg for five weeks to acclimatise to the 7,000-feet altitude.
“But he stayed in Las Vegas filming Ocean’s Eleven and didn’t arrive until eight days beforehand. The inevitable happened again.”
Joshua will enhance his reputation if he avenges his seventh-round stoppage by Ruiz, during which he was floored four times.
Maloney, 66, added: “On paper Joshua should stand Ruiz on his head. But I think they totally underestimated him.
“Every time AJ set himself up to deliver a punch, Ruiz delivered two before him.
“I think Joshua will box carefully this time and win on points. It could be like a chess match.
“Eddie Hearn and Matchroom have done a brilliant job — they’ve taken an average British fighter and made him a world champion.
“When Joshua beat Martin, it was like Leicester winning the Premier League.
“He is good for his era. But he wouldn’t have lived at the time of Lennox, Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe.”
The Sun Sport’s John Hutchinson and Jack Figg predict a Joshua win during an in-depth preview ahead of Ruiz v Joshua II
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
