Anthony Joshua hopes his partnership with Derrick James will bear fruit after criticizing his last two coaches and switching trainers twice in the previous two years.
AJ faces late substitute Robert Helenius at the O2 Arena in London this weekend, knowing a loss is probably the end of his career.
The ever-changing British heavyweight has a few days to adjust to a new opponent and hopes his time spent with James in the United States will be the game-changer.
“It would be silly to underestimate him or anyone. I have to take him deadly seriously and credit to him. He’s coming to roll the dice. He wants to win,” said Joshua.
“For the other heavyweights that were mentioned, finance was an issue. It’s risk versus reward. But in reality, that’s not all there is for him, so good luck to him.
“Shout out to everyone in Finland, I’ve been there before, and we’re looking to provide some good entertainment from top to bottom as the card is unbelievable.
Anthony Joshua is trying to improve
“As Derrick said, I came out to camp early this year. I took a couple of weeks, maybe a month back in the UK, then went to Dallas to try to progress on,” added AJ.
“So, my goal was to fight as many times as possible. Like Robert, he fought on Saturday. You have to stay active. You must keep expressing your skill as that’s the only way to improve.
“I fought in April, but I’ve spent a lot of time in the ring in the gym as we do a lot of ring work in Dallas. That’s the closest thing to a fight. It’s not just hitting the bags and mitts. There’s a lot of combat training, so I am physically ready.”
Despite Helenius being blasted out in seconds by Deontay Wilder, Joshua believes he must be at the top of his game to win and try to get the stoppage.
“The principles remain the same. Worry about myself. Robert and I sparred years ago. We shared the ring. But I’ve sparred with so many styles, competed with so many styles. The objective remains the same – victory and victory by any means.
“There’s no overtime in boxing, so I have to be on my A-game and inflict pain to get the victory. It’s just another rock in my shoe to the top of the mountain.”
If Helenius can get passed a couple of rounds with Joshua, the doubts may once again begin to creep in. The three-loss former champion needs an early KO on DAZN and certainly not to go late against an opponent who has passed his best.
Joshua comes into the fight with a gun-shy win over Jermaine Franklin. Before that, he lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in August 2022 and September 2021.
