Anthony Joshua’s trainer, Sergey Lapin, is confident the British heavyweight will stop Tyson Fury if the two former world champions eventually meet in the ring.
Joshua returned to action last month with a second round knockout of Kristian Prenga, but the victory did little to silence concerns about his form. The 36 year old was dropped and badly shaken several times during a difficult opening round before recovering to end the fight in the second.
The bout marked Joshua’s first appearance since a car crash in Nigeria claimed the lives of two of his close friends. The accident happened just days after his December victory over Jake Paul, whom he stopped in the sixth round.
Despite securing another knockout win, Joshua’s struggles against Prenga prompted criticism from some observers. Some questioned whether he still had enough left at the highest level and even suggested that he should consider retirement rather than take on 37 year old Fury.
Fury is also preparing for a return after suffering two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024. Joshua’s current team, led by Lapin and associated with Usyk’s camp, is already familiar with Fury after helping Usyk prepare for both victories.
Lapin said criticism of the team was nothing new and insisted that results would remain the best response.
“There has always been doubt, and there probably always will be,” Lapin said. “Throughout our journey, people have questioned our decisions, our methods and the level of our team. We do not answer with words. We answer with results.”
He said the priority was ensuring that Joshua remained confident, physically strong and comfortable with the training process, rather than allowing outside criticism to influence their work.
Lapin also defended the decision to have Joshua continue working with the team, while stressing that the final choice belonged to the boxer.
According to him, the experience gained from preparing Usyk for Fury twice could prove valuable if Joshua faces the former champion.
“This team has already prepared for Fury twice and successfully completed that mission twice,” Lapin said. “We understand Fury, we understand the challenge, and we understand what it takes to beat him.”
Lapin went further by backing Joshua to produce a stoppage, pointing to his combination of power, speed and physical strength.
“AJ will knock Fury out,” he said. “He is not just a powerful puncher. He is a machine that delivers devastating shots. Tyson has never faced an opponent with this combination of power, speed and physical pressure. Once AJ starts landing clean, the fight will end.”
