Anthony Joshua confirms Angel Fernandez as new trainer ahead of Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Anthony Joshua has announced he has promoted Angel Fernandez to the role of head trainer ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

The Spaniard, who also corners Frazer Clarke, Kieran Molloy and Richard Riakporhe, is stepping into Rob McCracken’s role and will work alongside AJ’s physio Ian Gatt.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn revealed at the start of January that Joshua will make an announcement regarding his team in the coming weeks having faced criticism for his tentative approach to the second defeat of his career.

The Watford warrior was convincingly beaten by the Ukrainian in September at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leading to calls for him to sack McCracken.

However, McCracken is still expected to be involved in some capacity, as he remains an integral part of his training set-up.

AJ has spent the past few months training with a selection of coaches across the United States and United Arab Emirates, including Eddy Reynoso, Virgil Hunter and Floyd Mayweather, since his September loss to the Ukraine great.

But it seems the search is finally over as Joshua confirmed that he has promoted Fernandez to lead the quest to win back his heavyweight titles from Usyk.

Fernandez, who was also in his corner for his fight against Kubrat Pulev, also served as assistant coach for his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in 2019.

Joshua told Behind The Gloves: “I’m working with Angel Fernandez right now.

“He’s been in my camp for the last three years anyway.

“He’s been in the last three world championships.”

Asked if that means Fernandez is now his official ‘main’ trainer, Joshua replied: “Yeah, man.”

Hearn recently admitted that he felt it was time for a change as he suggested that Joshua had got too comfortable