THE ANGEL IN JOSHUA’S CORNER

IT WAS the little-known figure of Angel Fernandez who, perhaps more than any other, was credited with the transformation of Anthony Joshua between his two fights with Andy Ruiz. If the complacency that undermined Joshua throughout the first was banished by Joshua himself, the cultured edge that so troubled Ruiz in the rematch had since been nurtured by those around him.

Fernandez, like Toby Clayton, had been recruited by Joshua to assist the long-serving Rob McCracken in his attempts to further his education when he should be relishing his prime. Fernandez’s methods – shaped by Cuba’s respected Jorge Rubio and Ismael Salas, more than any other – complemented a sense of patience Joshua had to rediscover, and will become even more influential on Saturday when he fights the remarkable Oleksandr Usyk, his most cultured opponent of all.

Born in Cangas, Spain, Fernandez – much like the heavyweight champion who approached him – largely learned to fight on the streets and dedicated himself to boxing at a relatively late age. A martial artist from 15, he was regularly drawn into street fights on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the same week, fights that