Anthony Joshua’s recent victory over Kristian Prenga may have ended with a second-round knockout, but the former heavyweight champion still faced plenty of criticism after the fight.
Joshua, now 36, endured a difficult opening round against Prenga, being dropped and hurt several times before recovering and stopping his opponent in the following round. While the knockout added another victory to his record, the manner of the performance raised questions among some observers about whether he is ready for another elite-level challenge.
The criticism intensified because Joshua is expected to face fellow former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Fury, 37, is also attempting to rebuild his career after suffering two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.
Some critics have gone as far as suggesting Joshua should retire rather than take on Fury. His current training team, however, remains firmly convinced that he has what it takes to win the biggest fight of his career.
Sergey Lapin, who works with the team that helped prepare Usyk for his victories over Fury, believes outside criticism is nothing new.
“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.”
Lapin also stressed that the priority inside the camp is making sure Joshua is confident and comfortable with the training process rather than allowing outside opinions to influence their work.
“The most important thing to us is that the athlete feels strong, confident and comfortable with the process. Everything else is just outside noise,” he said.
The trainer also dismissed criticism from boxing analysts who have questioned the team's decisions and tactics.
“There have been many people like that. They light up like matches, burn out quickly and disappear,” Lapin said. “The reality is that talking is their job. Our job is to prepare the athlete, make the right decisions and deliver results in the ring.”
When asked whether the Usyk-linked coaching team should be the one guiding Joshua into a potential Fury showdown, Lapin said the ultimate decision belongs to Joshua himself.
“I do not think anyone else should decide which team must lead AJ. That decision belongs to the athlete,” he explained.
However, Lapin believes the team's previous experience against Fury could give Joshua an important advantage if the matchup becomes official.
“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. So why not use that experience with another exceptional fighter?”
Lapin is particularly confident in Joshua’s ability to produce a knockout, pointing to the combination of size, speed, physical strength and punching power that he believes could cause Fury major problems.
“AJ will knock Fury out,” Lapin predicted. “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.”
Joshua is coming off a second-round stoppage of Prenga after previously defeating Jake Paul in six rounds in December. His latest comeback fight also came after he survived a serious car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two close friends.
With questions still surrounding the timing and confirmation of Joshua-Fury, Lapin expects an official announcement to arrive when the parties are ready.
For now, Joshua’s training team appears undeterred by the criticism. While many remain uncertain about how he would fare against Fury, Lapin believes the doubters will ultimately be answered in the ring.
