Johnny Nelson is known for many controversial statements. Now the former world heavyweight champion advises Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) take a year off from boxing.
After breaking up with long-term coach Robert McCracken, the Briton found himself under the wing of Robert Garcia, from whom he also probably intends to leave. The 33-year-old Brit recently spoke about collaborations with Roy Jones, Virgil Hunter, BJ Flores and Derrick James.
“Now AJ is at a crossroads, he visited different coaches, and then said that he could take a break. Yes, I think he should take a year off. He has to reboot, spend a lot of time in the gyms working out, diving into it, getting comfortable and saying, "I've rebooted, now I'm ready to come back."
“Look what he has achieved. He has been boxing since the age of eighteen. He has achieved incredibly great success, but is still broken. He still has not come to terms with two defeats from Usyk. He still needs to restore his strength, his faith. He needs to reboot, I think he needs to come back. He needs his motivation to fight, he needs to find his reasons, because he's not doing it for the money. He has more than you and I will ever spend,” Nelson said.
“AJ has lost two fights in a row and now he has to sit down and think, ‘I have to make the right decision. And he should take it with his head, not with his heart, because if he fights with all his heart, this is the wrong motivation. He must decide that he does not want all this fuss now. He makes the right decision by training with different people, getting more angles in different rooms, finding peace and comfort.”
“It’s best for him to dive into boxing and choose one of the gyms. He needs to talk to different people, and give himself real confidence to say that he is able to do it again. At the moment, after two defeats, for him, of course, the situation is different. To become a champion again, he must take a step back,” Nelson added.
