Anthony Joshua's trainer vows not to overlook "world-class heavyweight" Francis Ngannou

Ben Davison has weighed in on Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou.

The veteran trainer is now working with 'AJ' for just the second fight. Joshua has famously moved from coach to coach since his first loss to Oleksandr Usyk back in 2021. The Brit moved from Rob McCraken to Robert Garcia, to Derrick James, and now to Davison.

The former two-time champion is currently slated to return opposite 'The Predator' next month in Saudi Arabia. For Ngannou, the boxing match will be the second of his career. Last October, the PFL heavyweight contender nearly upset the lineal heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury.

However, 'The Gypsy King' survived from an early knockdown, outboxing Ngannou to a split-decision win. Since that fight late last year, fans and fighters have speculated that Fury didn't take the MMA fighter seriously. His lack of effort in training directly led to his near loss.

Joshua's trainer, Ben Davison, is determined not to let that happen to his fighter. Speaking in a recent interview with Sky Sports, the coach was asked about the Brit's upcoming fight against Ngannou.

There, Davison stated:

"Let's not lose the sight of it. He had a split-decision loss to Tyson. Straightaway that puts him up among people that have really struggled with Tyson. He showed composure, he showed patience, which are all things which become a threat when you can punch like that... So we're treating him like a world-class heavyweight."

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Francis Ngannou explains difference between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury

Anthony Joshua's coach, Ben Davison, isn't overlooking Francis Ngannou, but 'The Predator' doesn't think it will matter.

For those who missed the former UFC champion's boxing debut, he impressed most. In the third round, Ngannou scored a shock knockdown over Tyson Fury, badly dropping the British boxer.

From that point forward, the lineal heavyweight champion was clearly less willing to trade punches in close with Ngannou. While Fury was able to escape with a split-decision victory, it wasn't easy.

Joshua appears to be taking Francis Ngannou far more seriously than 'The Gypsy King'. However, the MMA fighter doesn't think it'll matter. Speaking in an appearance on DAZN Boxing's Face Off, Ngannou questioned if Joshua could've taken the shot Fury did.

He stated:

“I have a doubt [that he would get up], Tyson has showed that he is very resilient. I saw him come back from a knockdown that you wouldn’t believe somebody would come back from."

Check out his comments below (11:00):