Joshua reveals a decision that changed his career for good

Former world champion Anthony Joshua can see the top of the heavyweight boxing mountain again – and he loves the view.

The last 17 months have seen AJ reel off four successive victories to put himself in world title contention once more – each more impressive than the last.

Joshua (now 28-3 with 25 wins inside the distance) has come a long way since that second successive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk on August 22 – a loss which left many feeling he was at the crossroads of a glorious career.

Since then the British megastar has fought his way back to the top table of heavyweight boxing with wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.

Next up of course, he gets the chance to become a three-time world heavyweight champion when he challenges fellow Brit Daniel Dubois for the IBF title in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on September 21.

Those last two wins over Wallin and Ngannou came under the tutelage of new trainer Ben Davison – a man who once headed up the corner of a certain Tyson Fury. The impact has been palpable, most noticeably in that two-round demolition of Ngannou in March.

Former UFC heavyweight king Ngannou remember had taken Fury 10 rounds before dropping a close decision in his first fight as a pro boxer. And he was seen as a legitimate opponent for a Joshua who was still rebuilding after those Usyk losses.

In the end, though it was one-way traffic as Joshua obliterated Ngannou in sensational style. And afterwards, the 34-year-old admitted that one specific change he has made in recent months was influential in that outcome.

He told DAZN Boxing: “The guy was a juggernaut, he was massive. And I thought to myself, ‘If I only depended on strength it would have been a lot tougher fight.’

“But because I’ve gone through a process where I’ve tried to improve my IQ, I was able to dispatch a Goliath quickly. I’m not saying he was an elite boxer, but I took it on the premise of what he did vs Tyson Fury who was the WBC champion.

“He gave Fury one of his toughest nights in the ring… I was able to dispatch him in two rounds when the WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury struggled to take him ten rounds.”