Anthony Joshua has handed Fabio Wardley a late boost in his attempt to regain his heavyweight title. Wardley will challenge Daniel Dubois in London tonight, five months after losing his crown to his fellow Brit.
Joshua himself is preparing to take on bitter rival Tyson Fury in December and has opted to re-unite with Wardley's trainer Ben Davison.
Wardley praises Joshua's return
The Ipswich man said: "He's been back in the gym for a good while and it's been good to see him. He has a different energy; a different aura around him once he appears, and that gives the gym a little buzz and a different feel to it. He's been straight back in the mix and he's shoulder to shoulder with the boys like you'd expect."
Davison was heavily criticised for not throwing in the towel during Wardley's bruising defeat by Dubois in May. But his charge insists Joshua's decision to return vindicates his own faith in his coach.
Vindication for Davison
"The whole conversation around Ben has always been incredibly frustrating," he added. "It's so strange, because the levels at which people say he's not done the right job have been at the absolute pinnacle of the sport.
"They've been with me, fighting for a world heavyweight title; they've been with Moses Itauma, fighting for a world heavyweight title; with AJ, fighting for a world heavyweight title. It's going to be tough at the top; you might lose, you might win. That's enough evidence to show that someone like Ben deserves to have someone like AJ."
Joshua's trainer search
"As a fighter, you know what works and what doesn't work for you, especially Joshua – someone who's bounced around quite a bit between trainers – so the proof's in the pudding, really. He's been bouncing around from trainer to trainer to trainer to trainer, and then has left one, went somewhere else, and gone 'Actually I know where I felt best in myself and where I got the most out of it'. He has left and thought 'The grass isn't actually greener' and come back."
