Anthony Joshua urged to work with legendary trainer Ronnie Shields to revive career

Joshua recently spent time with Shields, who used to train Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield

Anthony Joshua is on the hunt for fresh inspiration (Getty Images)

Anthony Joshua has been urged to work with the famous boxing trainer Ronnie Shields to get his career back on track. Joshua is currently in America meeting with various trainers in search of new input into his preparation for his upcoming rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in the spring, after losing his heavyweight world titles to Usyk in September in underwhelming fashion.

The Briton is keen to keep working with his long-time trainer Rob McCracken but is seeking a fresh voice in his team to help him climb back to the top of the sport and to ultimately take down the man widely considered the best heavyweight on the planet, Tyson Fury.

Joshua recently spent time with Shields, who used to train Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, at his Plex Boxing Gym in Stafford, Texas. And Shields’ assistant Dominick Guinn believes the time is right for Joshua to appoint a new trainer.

“It was a great visit,” Guinn told mybettingsites of Joshua’s two-day trip to Texas. “I always thought Anthony Joshua was a great guy out of the ring. We worked with him on a few things and just gave him some advice that was pretty much it.

“There’s always a time and a place for change. I don’t know his team. But if I was in his shoes, I would definitely make a change. You’ve been dealing with the same people for so long and they can only take you so far, now it’s up to him if he wants to change. He really needs to get out and see something else, different scenery, and I think it would be great for him to come to the United States.

“I think he’s a great champion and he’s a great person for the heavyweight division. And once he gets back to self-renewing, just back to what he used to do that got him to the top, he’ll be back on top again with that killer instinct and not listening to some people who have probably never fought before.”

Guinn has vowed to restore Joshua to his former glory, if he and Shields are given the job.

“We’ll bring the dog out of him, the killer out of him, help him remember how it felt before he won his first title, before he beat Charles Martin and got that first belt. And the hunger he felt when he first won it. If he comes to us, that’s what we’ll be preaching for him to get back to. I think it’s just like a light switch. We just need to turn the lights on. It’s going to be just pretty much dead easy to just turn a light on. If he decides to come to Houston, he will win that title back and WBC belt also.

“I feel like if he does come to Houston, that’s going to give him another boost when he steps in the ring. To step out on his own and come somewhere else, and somewhere where he’s uncomfortable. And he’s going to come here and he’s going to get real uncomfortable and we’re just going to bring it back out of him.

“He’s going to be around other lions and killers just like himself. It’s a professional world and a professional ring that you get into everyday. If he ends up in Houston I can guarantee you’ll probably see the best Anthony Joshua you’ve ever seen before.”