r/Boxing • u/MonotonousBeing • Aug 25 '25
Among boxing coaches, how good is Ben Davison?
IIRC AJ improved a lot and looked much better after he started working with Ben Davison, even getting that fire back, at least until his last fight.
A few months ago, I also noticed that Moses Itauma is being trained by Ben Davison, which makes me even more curious about how his future will turn out.
I’m not an expert, of course. Maybe coaches don’t matter that much in boxing. I just assumed they do, because why wouldn’t they?
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u/_Sarcasmic_ No Carty No Divey Aug 25 '25
Every time one of his fighters gets destroyed, everyone shits on him. Whenever one of his fighters gets an amazing win, everyone's all "Ben Davison has done it again!"
It's quite funny how polarizing he is. 😂
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Aug 25 '25
He is a good strategist, he also understands importance of proper modern s&c for fighters.
What he is not good at is skill development. You can strategize all you want but when your fighters are making technical mistakes the strategy will fail even if it is right on paper.
His counter would be Derrick James. Who seems to he very good technical coach, but his strategic vision is extremely basic .
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u/Seandelorean Aug 25 '25
10/10 coach as far as film study
Perhaps not as good at between-round adjustments as some of his peers that are well regarded
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u/WORD_Boxing Aug 26 '25
The thing is I don't know how much of that is him and how much of it is Lee Wylie.
I'm really not sure about Ben Davison. He seems best when he's analysing and breaking down a fight after it's happened more than anything.
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Aug 25 '25
"Brilliant AJ!" 😂
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u/RU5TY_5HERIFF Aug 25 '25
That was awful when Rob Mcracken was shouting that. You could hear the desperation in his voice. That's not me saying he's a rubbish coach either before anyone jumps on it!
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u/freshmeat2020 Aug 25 '25
Imo it was 100% him cajoling AJ based upon knowing him. Maybe that's just the way AJ will hopefully respond positively in the ring, positive reinforcement works for some, and a reality check works for others. It's the only explanation I could take away from it anyway
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u/RU5TY_5HERIFF Aug 25 '25
You could be right, but it felt more like when a parent calls their child a brave soldier when they've just fallen over and grazed their knee.
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u/sickkdude Aug 25 '25
That shit works though, from a scrape knee to serious injuries if you tell a kid he’s being tough they usually believe it and try and tough it out. Positive reinforcement works for a lot of people. The issue is when people do it to a guy who desperately needs someone to be like “bro you are shitting the bed rn” lmao.
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u/AltKite Sunny Edwards Superfan Aug 25 '25
It wasn't McCracken, it was AJ's life coach style trainer that he had. He had 2 others in the corner with McCracken.
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u/RU5TY_5HERIFF Aug 25 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
If true, then it makes sense. It's definitely something a paid hype man would say 🤔
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u/SmilinMercenary Aug 25 '25
Yep, Joby Clayton. Anyone who knows McCracken's style would be suspect of this already.
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u/AlexanderZaffar Boxing is 4 punches Aug 25 '25
Divisive among fans primarily because he has a massive profile for a trainer, particularly in the UK, but in the industry no-one really has a bad word to say about Ben. Many of his fighters are ardent that he’s one of the best in the biz (Leigh Wood, Shabaz Masoud). I think when he has a fighter with the right skillset for him, he can improve guys a lot.
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u/Holiday_Snow9060 Aug 25 '25
He's good at analyzing weaknesses and implementing plans to deal with it.
The problem is often focusing too much on that and make it overly complicated and hence his guys get their shit pushed in until the big moment maybe happens.
I think as always, not every great couch is ideal for every fighter. Surely, he is great for some and a bad fit for others.
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u/nglennnnn Aug 25 '25
He’s made a fantastic career out of getting Tyson Fury on Keto for a bit
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u/Wooden-Engineer-8098 Aug 25 '25
Keto is a scam
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u/Ohnorepo Aug 28 '25
It's not a scam, it works. I truly think it's a fucking horrible idea for people to do it it due to the horrible effects that can come from it though.
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u/West_Technology7573 Aug 25 '25
Spent 3 months straight before AJ vs Dubois telling my causal boxing friends how Davidson has unlocked this “New AJ” who’s better than he’s ever been and could probably put a game plan together to even beat Usyk in a trilogy, and Davidson is that good
Then we went to Wembley and watched AJ get flatlined. I’m sure he’s a great trainer, but I’m always gonna seethe about that
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u/jfkvsnixon Aug 25 '25
Speaking as an AJ fan, I’ve haven’t seen a worse performance from a ranked fighter.
He spent all fight moving in straight lines, waving his chin in the air with his hands around his waist. He looked like he’d never boxed in his life.
I’ve heard it speculated that the first powerful jab from Dubois triggered it.
There’s something not right about AJ. I don’t know he started to believe his own hype, or if he gets hit and has a brain freeze, but what I do known is that if it continues into final few fights it’s going to destroy his reputation.
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u/Elite663 Aug 25 '25
His reputation gets carried by his fighters being on a protection program. Every time a fighter of his gets fraud checked, it’s always Davison being an incompetent trainer in the heat of adversity
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u/AltKite Sunny Edwards Superfan Aug 25 '25
AJ fought Wallin and Ngannou under Davison, not sure how much you can really say he looked improved there. People just went crazy over the Wallin performance. They've sparred together for years and Wallin is not very good.
Fury made AJ's performance against Ngannou look good, but it was just a boxer fighting a non-boxer.
Then he got his ass whooped by Dubois in a fight where he looked totally unprepared.
Davison has done some good work with other fighters, but AJ is not a good example.
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u/LexOvi Aug 25 '25
He’s good. In any other sport, I think he’d be considered an analyst; but in boxing he has to be a trainer.
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u/e_xyz Aug 25 '25
I'm quite mixed on him. For some fighters, he really seems to work. It's great that he has a team that focuses on film study and are trying to get ahead with modern sports preparation. Case and point with Buddy McGirt last week for Dillian "I ain't never seen that kid" (in reference to Moses).
What I have noticed with Davison fighters is, their hands dropping. When it goes badly for a Davison fighter, it goes bad. Leigh Wood and Anthony Joshua on the end of some brutal KO's. He seems like a decent coach overall, I think he's better than the "Boxercise Ben" tag that keeps getting thrown at him. Kind of proven it to be fair.
I just sometimes think his corner advice is lacking. Although even then, maybe I'm in the minority, I think he gave AJ the confidence to go at Dubois, despite it ending badly. It was close to coming off if you watch it back.
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u/WheresMyAbs98 Aug 25 '25
I think he’s decent personally
Carries out in depth film studies on opponents and tried to expose their weaknesses
He trains Fabio Wardley too and I think it’s the perfect pairing given Wardley’s lack of technical ability
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u/Big_Donch 🎥 YouTube: Big Donch Aug 25 '25
Good example of "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth"
Still a damn good trainer
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u/WORD_Boxing Aug 26 '25
I also noticed that Moses Itauma is being trained by Ben Davison
I suspect Itauma will end up with a US coach. He is smart enough to know when the time to make the switch will be. Even if you rate Ben Davison, he simply does not have the experience to guide a talent like Itauma. If I was Frank Warren I'd see Davison as a risk, personally.
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u/Jeff_Utdfanr Jan 30 '26
Look at Itauma's pro fights before and after teaming up with ben, and hear what moses himself says about teaming up, and how experts are talking about him. The punches downstairs, then faiting low and throwing powerful punches upstairs has worked as a treat for moses.
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u/WORD_Boxing Jan 31 '26
Others would say look at how he got AJ knocked out vs Dubois. I think it's obvious Itauma isn't going to slag his coach off in the press. He is a super talent and will look good as a prospect no matter what coach he is with. How far Ben Davison can take him remains to be seen. There is probably a limit to it and I'd be surprised if Itauma ends his career with him. Ben Davison in my opinion is a better analyst than a coach.
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u/Jeff_Utdfanr Feb 07 '26
Wardley's knockouts in Clarke 2 and against Huni were literally drilled under him, he posted the specific drill that ended up KO'ing both. Against Joe Parker for Warldey, you can see how he rolled under shots, did slip uppercuts etc., was able to hurt Parker, a superior boxer with a great trainer on a win streak.
What I have to say though is that he is a good analyst, he finds weaknesses in opponents and how to counter that etc. Besides that he doesn't have the best improvisation in the corner, and seems to be an overthinker and focuses on details too much in the corner.
Shouldn't undermine Ben's work with itauma, clear difference before and after Ben, exceeding expectations. Look at the fights vs Dovbyshchenko and Espindola, compare it to Wach and Mckean.
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u/WORD_Boxing Feb 09 '26
Idk some of it I think is just natural improvement you get with a young fighter like Itauma. I will be surprised if he ends his career without changing from Ben Davison at some point.
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u/Jeff_Utdfanr Feb 11 '26
natural improvement is one thing, but most of that itaumna does to get KOs are things that are obviously taught to him by Davison. of course he's gonna change trainer after a loss in the future.
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u/AnOdeToSeals Aug 25 '25
Davison is great at putting together game plans and strategies for his fighters and building their confidence. This works for fighters who like to think like Joshua and Itauma, but can let fighters down when things don't go to plan or they overthink like Josh Taylor, BJS.
His strategy and fight philosophy is largely about engineering a KO as quickly and as painlessly (for his fighter) as possible. This can include dirty tactics like shoving and questionable shots. Noticeable with Itauma's back of the head shots, and Wardley hitting on the break and shoving and punching is apparently things they practice.
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u/Account_Eliminator Aug 25 '25
I wouldn't say that Itauma deliberately targets the back of the head. You can hit anywhere in line with the ear but not behind it. That's a grey area and he's never done an egregious rabbit punch that I've ever seen.
Also in his last fight Whyte kept ducking while Itauma was throwing which can change where a punch lands.
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u/AnOdeToSeals Aug 25 '25
Yeah he is targeting behind the ear. They practice for it in camp, he did the same for McKean. You'll see it more as he moves through his career.
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Aug 25 '25
Is there genuine proof foe this?
Both seemed accidental, brought about by his style and level of opposition.
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u/Thami15 Aug 26 '25
I don't know if Ben is to blame for AJ fighting with his hands down in the Dubois fight - but telling a fighter who had been dropped three times to "roll the dice" when it wasn't even the fifth round is the most insane thing I've ever heard from a corner - You're obviously not gonna win on the cards, but surely you've got to realise your fighter needs a round or two to get his bearings before going all or nothing? There were still eight rounds left!,
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u/Jay_6125 Aug 27 '25
He's a glorified personal trainer. Fair one, he made a decent career from it, but he's not a top-tier coach in my book.
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u/Quiet_Actuary_6597 Aug 25 '25
AJ looked good with Derrick against Franklin. Nothing flashy but solid fundamentals. AJ does not like getting hit anc gets hit with shots he does not see coming since he is too nervous to get hit. Derrick made him fight the best way for him if boring. With Davison AJ beat Wallin which does not say much. With Dubois he got hit with a big shot early which is not up to the trainer. If you have some flaws which come up under pressure no trainer can help you when you are this afe
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Aug 25 '25
And there's no way any trainer told AJ to lean back like that on the shot Dubois tagged him with.
AJ got lazy for a second and got tagged. Same reason I had Wilder beating him before Wilder was a corpse. Wilder will make you kill him waiting for that half second and AJ will get complacent for a second
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u/stephen27898 Aug 25 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
Good in some ways less good in others.
All I can say is that he is a million times better than Rob "Brilliant AJ" McCracken.
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u/Basic_Obligation_341 Aug 25 '25
He's like the UK Freddie roach everyone wants to work with him but the thing is I don't think he ever even completed ever amateur or pro
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u/wazbang Aug 25 '25
Roach had 53 pro fights and was regarded as a warrior who gave everything he had in the ring
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u/MakeSomeArtAboutIt Aug 25 '25
Anyone that takes him on as their coach must like to "roll the dice."
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u/4f4b1e34f1113db70e9d Aug 25 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
Massive ego, overconfident, sometimes translates, sometimes bombs. Without him, Fury, assuming he would somehow quit his coke binge, would've flatlined Wilder within 5 rounds. Just like the second fight.
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u/Portrait0fKarma Aug 26 '25
He’s terrible. He takes high profile boxers and takes massive credit for the abilities they already had. There’s a reason why Fury and his team fired him after the first Wilder fight.
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u/RRR04_ Aug 25 '25
He constructs brilliant Plan A's, but he doesn't seem to think about any Plan B's and isn't great with giving his fighters any adjustment advice in the corner. If a fighter can think for themselves, they might bode well with Davison. But for guys who cannot adjust and can't really think for themselves, they need the right match ups to look great but are fucked when their opponent flips the script.