Klitschko: Johnathon Banks Is Still My Trainer; I Believe In Him

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Boxers don’t hesitate sometimes to replace a trainer in the aftermath of losing a big fight.

Wladimir Klitschko won’t do that to Johnathon Banks, no matter how much criticism is directed toward Klitschko’s head trainer in relation to his loss to Tyson Fury. Ukraine’s Klitschko made it perfectly clear Tuesday that he never considered firing Banks, who became Klitschko’s head trainer after International Boxing Hall-of-Famer Emanuel Steward died in October 2012.

“I will not change my team,” Klitschko said before a press conference at Madison Square Garden to promote his April 29 fight against Anthony Joshua. “And if somebody’s having doubts, that some of the team members are not good, I will crush your doubts.”

A faction of boxing fans and media blamed Banks for failing to properly instruct and motivate Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) during his 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to England’s Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) in November 2015. Klitschko considers that criticism unfair and contends he, Banks and the rest of his team will use that as motivation during the former heavyweight champion’s two-month training camp for his showdown with England’s Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) at Wembley Stadium in London.

“I believe for every team member on my team,” Klitschko said, “it’s a challenge and something to prove, whatever it was, we were successful for a long time for a reason. And we can fix it. We can fix the mistake that was made and the loss that we had, which [gave] all of us strong motivation. So I definitely have good [feelings about] my team, moving forward to the goal.”

Klitschko still will draw from lessons Steward taught him during their highly successful run together. Steward, famous for training such legends as Thomas Hearns and Lennox Lewis, helped rebuild Klitschko’s career following technical knockout losses to Corrie Sanders in 2003 and Lamon Brewster in 2004.

Steward also trained Banks, a former cruiserweight contender from Detroit who later fought at heavyweight.

“Maybe it sounds weird, but when I train, even when I’m in the ring and fighting in sparring sessions or in a fight, I could hear his voice,” Klitschko said of Steward. “I know what he’s gonna say. And he follows me. Not as a ghost – you can call it whatever you wanna call it.

“But I know how he thinks and I know what he’s saying in each moment. [We had] so many conversations over and over and over. Sometimes he was repeating the same story 25 times and it was each time interesting. So I do miss him and I know I will do it for him, too.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.