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Johnathon Banks.
‘I wouldn’t get no reward for anything that happens with Wladimir, because of who taught him and who taught me,’ says Johnathon Banks, left. ‘But I don’t care.’ Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images
‘I wouldn’t get no reward for anything that happens with Wladimir, because of who taught him and who taught me,’ says Johnathon Banks, left. ‘But I don’t care.’ Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer passing on lessons of the greats as Wembley looms

This article is more than 6 years old

Johnathon Banks replaced his own former trainer, Manny Steward, as the veteran Ukrainian’s coach and is sure experience will win out against Anthony Joshua

A little after 10pm on Saturday, Wladimir Klitschko will walk from his changing room to the ring in the middle of Wembley Stadium. Cameras will flash and the volume will rise among the 90,000 sellout crowd for his meeting with Anthony Joshua but the boxer known as Dr Steelhammer will retain a look of determination, as he has done before his 68 previous fights. Eyes locked, expression still and menacing.

By Klitschko’s side will be a man who knows how he is really feeling and whether this will be the night that the former WBA, IBF and WBO champion proves he remains one of the most durable and formidable fighters. “I sparred with Wladimir for years and I know when he’s not feeling his best and I know when he is feeling his best,” says Klitschko’s trainer, Johnathon Banks. It is a bold claim and the seriousness in the 34-year-old’s voice suggests he believes it.

To some extent that should come as no surprise. The relationship between fighter and trainer is close and having assumed responsibility for coaching Klitschko from Emanuel Steward following the latter’s death in 2012, Banks, who was also trained by and assisted Steward, was always going to get to know the Ukrainian on a deeper level.

The former cruiserweight has been in Klitschko’s corner for many highs as well as the unexpected low of his defeat to Tyson Fury in Düsseldorf 17 months ago. It was a moment that not only stripped the Ukrainian of his belts but also his cloak of near-invincibility and Banks claims he saw it coming long before Klitschko had walked from changing room to ring.

“Manny Steward told me one thing: ‘Before every fight I see the outcome a day or two before.’ And when it hit me about Fury and Wladimir I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be our night,” Banks says. “I got it on the Thursday before the fight. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t describe it and not until you’re in tune with your fighter will you know. You can’t say anything to Wladimir. You can’t walk to the ring with your head down and be sad. You have to go through with it and see what comes. Maybe he can do something to offset it.”

‘The 12th round [of Klitschko’s fight against Tyson fury] did something to him,’ says Banks. ‘It changed him and he’s been obsessed ever since.’ Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Klitschko could not: usually the most assured of fighters, the 41-year-old showed uncharacteristic hesitancy against Fury. He was spooked by the challenger’s constant movement and became unable to get his shots off, only really unleashing in the 12th round when he had no choice but to go for broke. It was too little, too late and Fury deservedly took a unanimous points decision.

That was Klitschko’s last fight. Now comes his chance to prove he is no busted flush after what was his fourth defeat since turning professional in 1996. Joshua, the IBF champion, poses a different threat to Fury – a year younger at 27, stronger, faster and more deadly – but Klitschko feels confident, as does Banks, insisting the veteran has learnt from the mistakes he made in November 2015.

“The 12th round did something to him,” he says. “It opened his eyes to say: ‘I can’t believe one round changed my life, I could’ve been doing this the whole time.’ It changed him and he’s been obsessed ever since. He wants to win more than ever.”

When it was put to Banks that Klitschko’s failure to pull the trigger against Fury was a consequence of the doubt and panic that often grips fighters when they reach a certain age, he was immediately dismissive, pointing to moments in boxing history which prove that with time often comes valuable experience.

“That’s the same thing Michael Moorer thought when he fought George Foreman [in November 1994 and lost his heavyweight titles to the then 45-year-old],” Banks says. “He thought the same thing George Foreman thought when he fought Muhammad Ali in Zaire [in 1974]. George took what Ali did to him and did the exact same thing to Moore.

“When an old man don’t back down from a fight, you better pay attention to the older guy because there’s something he knows that the young guy don’t know and with that he’s going to be the successor. That’s why I believe Wladimir will beat AJ.”

Banks is not dismissive of the threat Joshua poses, partly because he respects the Watford man’s record – 18 wins from 18 fights, all achieved via knockout – and partly because he has seen him operate up close, most recently having been in Dillian Whyte’s corner when Joshua beat him in December 2015, and 13 months earlier when the London 2012 gold medallist sparred with Klitschko before the latter’s contest with the Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev.

“I worked with him on the pads and gave him power,” Banks says. “He’s a very good guy, a great athlete and we kept in contact up until he signed the contract with Wlad. Then we didn’t stay in contact no more.

“I told Joshua he’ll be world champion one day because I’d seen the way he fights, seen his style, seen the way he carries himself. He’s the perfect guy next door.”

Saturday’s fight also provides Banks with a chance to establish himself as a high-level trainer following a career inside the ring that never reached exalted levels. The man from Southfield, Michigan, took part in 32 bouts, at heavyweight as well as cruiserweight, winning 29 times but never landing a world title of note.

Having hung up his gloves in December 2014, Banks has put his energies into bringing success to other fighters, yet having had such a close link to Steward he finds himself in the shadow of one of boxing’s most revered figures. A Klitschko victory at Wembley could change that, though the man himself remains sceptical about such a prospect.

“I wouldn’t get no reward for anything that happens with Wladimir, because of who taught him and who taught me,” he says. “I only get credit if we lose, not for the victories. But I don’t care.”

His focus, then, is absolute – on helping Klitschko get the job done on a night when heavy punches will fly amid an electric atmosphere. If Banks is to be believed, he will know before the first bell whether his man has what it takes to achieve redemption or if he is yet again in a state of unease. There will not be much he can do either way except tell Klitschko to remain calm.

“You’ve got two beasts from different forests coming to collide and just because one beast got scars and the other one don’t, it don’t mean the one with scars has a better chance to win,” Banks says. “A lot of times when two alpha males are fighting, one alpha male is hearing the wind and one his voice and he maybe distracted. Emotions distract and whichever guy controls their emotions the best will be the winner of the fight.”

Sky Sports Box Office will show Joshua v Klitschko exclusively live on 29 April. To book go to www.skysports.com/joshua

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