Anthony Joshua praises newest coach Derrick James - "He's the truth"

Anthony Joshua is seemingly enjoying his time working with Derrick James.

'AJ' has been out of the ring since his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk last August. Prior to the bout, the former champion dropped longtime head trainer Rob McCracken in favor of Robert Garcia. While Joshua performed well in the rematch, he still lost by split decision.

Following the defeat, the British star returned to the drawing board. Joshua, along with his promoter Eddie Hearn, stated that he would take a tune-up for his next matchup. That next opponent has since been revealed to be Jermaine Franklin, as '989 Assassin' is coming off a decision defeat to Dillian Whyte last year.

Along with that, Anthony Joshua is getting a new team behind him. Earlier this year, Robert Garcia revealed that the two had parted ways, with the former champion joining a new trainer, Derrick James. The Houston-based coach currently works with Errol Spence Jr. as well.

In a recent interview with BoxingScene, the former two-time champion discussed his time training with James. Joshua gave his new trainer tons of praise, stating:

“He’s the truth. He is good... I don’t want to put him under any pressure, I’ve got to fight at the end of the day. But with or without me, the right fighter who stumbles across Derrick is probably going to end up becoming a world champion because he is a really good coach. I rate him highly and I trust what he says.”

See his comments below:

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Will Anthony Joshua defeat Jermaine Franklin?

Anthony Joshua is currently massively favored to defeat Jermaine Franklin next month.

'AJ' is currently preparing for yet another run to the title. This time, however, he's not rebounding from a bad night at the office, such as his upset loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. Instead, he's coming off back-to-back losses for the first time ever.

On his return, Joshua and his team wanted a solid fighter, but one that would likely qualify as a tune-up. The tune-up fighter has now turned out to be Jermaine Franklin, who's a bit unknown to a lot of the boxing community.

'989 Assassin' is coming off a controversial decision defeat to Dillian Whyte late last year. The fight was the most high-profile of his career thus far, with many fans feeling that Franklin deserved the win.

While he's coming off an impressive showing, he's not expected to compete with Anthony Joshua. The betting odds currently reflect that, with 'AJ' being a -1000 favorite. In the meantime, Franklin is a +600 underdog.