Anthony Joshua backed to ‘wipe the floor’ with Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury by Derek Chisora due to key change

Derek Chisora believes Anthony Joshua will rise to the top of the heavyweight division under Ben Davison.

The Watford powerhouse has looked phenomenal since joining forces with his new trainer a little under six months ago.

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AJ started working with Davison ahead of his dominant stoppage win over Otto Wallin in December.

It was a much-improved performance to his previous two outings against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, which were overseen by former head coach Derrick James

Joshua has been criticised for being too gun-shy in many of his recent fights, but since linking up with Davison the Brit has seemingly rediscovered the fire in his belly.

Following Joshua's win over Wallin, the pair joined forces again for his second-round demolition of Francis Ngannou.

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The Cameroonian cage fighter had caused Fury all kinds of problems five months prior but there were no such issues for Joshua as he dispatched the former UFC heavyweight champion with ease.

Chisora likes what he has seen from his old pal lately and backs Joshua to beat Oleksandr Usyk now that he is working with Davison, despite the fact he lost back-to-back fights against the Ukrainian in 2021 and 2022.

“AJ would wipe the floor with Usyk under Ben Davison, I don't think it would go six rounds," Chisora told Crypto Casino LTD.

"He chucked a couple jabs against Otto Wallin [in December] and everything else was power and he's mixing up head and body. 

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 “That said, with current records and past performances, right now the best heavyweight in the world is Usyk, gold medalist and undisputed cruiserweight champion.

"He came up at heavyweight and has taken over, and in one more fight he can prove he is the pound-for-pound the best fighter and make history for Ukraine.”

Chisora is also confident that this version of Joshua walks through Tyson Fury.

“I'm picking AJ over Fury all day long if it gets made," Chisora said. 

"He's a friend and we went to the same amateur club, but his power will be too much for Fury, he'd have so much ferociousness saved for that fight, and you must remember that Ben Davison knows Tyson Fury very well, so I think AJ [wins]."

Joshua may have the opportunity to prove himself against whoever gets their hand raised in Usyk and Fury's inaugural undisputed clash on May 18 if a step-aside fee is accepted by the loser.

Fury's US promoter, Bob Arum, has already teased that this could take precedence over an immediate rematch.

"There's always a chance [of a step-aside] when there's one entity putting up the money, as in this case the sovereign (wealth) fund [the Public Investment Fund], the [General Entertainment Authority] in Saudi Arabia, they can have a tremendous influence on the fighters, and maybe if Fury is successful they can make it worthwhile to Usyk to step aside to allow a Joshua fight to happen this year," Arum told Sky Sports.

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