Frank Warren comfortable with Tyson Fury’s change of trainers

Promoter Frank Warren said he’s fully confident Tyson Fury “knows what he’s doing in bringing in Javan SugarHill Steward.”

A new trainer is sometimes interpreted as a sign of uncertainty, if not turmoil, but Tyson Fury promoter Frank Warren is comfortable with Fury’s decision to fire Ben Davison and hire SugarHill Steward before the heavyweight rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22.

No worries, Warren says

“I know there is some concern about Fury changing trainers ahead of such a colossal clash,’’ Warren told The Mirror, a U.K. publication.  “I’m certainly sad to see him split with Ben Davison because the pair were great together.

“But when Fury appointed Davison as the man to help him get back to the top many questioned him using such a young trainer. How wrong they were.’’

Davison was a key in helping Fury fight his way back into the championship mix after he slipped into a lifestyle that included more drugging, drinking and dining than training. Fury was reportedly about 400 pounds about a year before his controversial draw with Wilder on Dec. 1, 2018 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

But a difficult decision over then-unknown Otto Wallin on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas generated widespread criticism of Davison in a fight that left Fury badly bloodied. On Dec. 15, Davison was fired and Steward was hired.

Fury, who says he is already in camp for the rematch, said he made the move because he had grown “stale.’’ He said he already had a relationship with Steward, the former Javan Hill and a nephew of the late Hall of Famer Emanuel Steward.

“I am fully confident he knows what he’s doing in bringing in Javan SugarHill Steward to take the corner for the Wilder rematch,’’ Warren said. “Few fighters know what’s best for them (more) than Fury and he will not have made the decision lightly.”

Lennox Lewis: Tyson Fury will benefit from working with SugarHill Steward

Lennox Lewis said the Kronk Gym system will help Tyson Fury grow as a fighter.

Former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis told SunSport that Tyson Fury made a wise move by hiring SugarHill Steward as his trainer.

Fury last week split with Ben Davison, who has guided him during his comeback and helped battle his demons, turned to the nephew and protégé of the late Kronk Gym founder Emanuel Steward to train for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22.

Lewis was trained by Emanuel Steward from 1994 until he retired in 2003.

“Javan is a great trainer and would be an asset for Tyson Fury,” said Lewis, referring to SugarHill Steward by his previous name. “Ben did a great job and I have nothing bad to say about him. He took Tyson from a real low point to exactly where he needed to get to. But you always need a great trainer and SugarHill, as I call him, is a good trainer. I give him very high marks.

“Every time you see a Kronk fighter, you can expect to see something special. Kronk fighters do things that no other fighters do and I know that for a fact.”

Lewis added: “There are a lot of technical things the Kronk system can help Tyson with and SugarHill has them.”

Fury is expected to begin training with SugarHill Steward after Christmas.

“We’ll have seven to eight weeks together and that will be enough,” Steward said. “I’m excited to see Tyson progress through the training camp.”

 

Tyson Fury, trainer Ben Davison go separate ways

Ben Davison, Tyson Fury’s trainer for the last five fights, confirmed Sunday that he and the heavyweight contender have split.

Tyson Fury is looking for a new trainer just 10 weeks before his scheduled rematch with Deontay Wilder.

Ben Davison, Fury’s trainer for the last five fights, confirmed Sunday that he and Fury have split.

In a tweet Sunday, Davison said: “Tyson and myself had to both make decisions for our careers, which resulted in our working relationship coming to an end, HOWEVER, we remain friends and he will SMASH the DOSSER!!’’

Trouble between Fury and Davison has been brewing since his bloody decision over Otto Wallin, then an unknown Swede, on Sept. 14 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Fury’s father, John, criticized Davison, saying that Fury was unprepared and in poor condition. Fury suffered a nasty cut above his right eye and on the eyelid. He needed 42 stitches.

“That is the worst I have ever seen him,’’ John Fury said then. “It has gone terribly wrong in the camp and someone is to blame.”

Fury’s rematch of his draw with Wilder more than a year ago is scheduled for Feb. 22. It wasn’t clear Sunday who might succeed Davison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tyson Fury’s voice strangely absent in wake of Anthony Joshua victory

Tyson Fury, known as much for his mouth as his ability as a boxer, hasn’t weighed in on the Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Jr. fight.

When Tyson Fury speaks, the media listens. The media also listens when he doesn’t.

Fury generated lots of talk on social media for not talking in the immediate aftermath Saturday of Anthony Joshua’s victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in a heavyweight rematch. Silence from Fury is surprising. It’s a little bit like man biting dog. It just doesn’t happen. It’s a good bet to think it probably won’t last long either.

But U.K. fans have grown accustomed to hearing from Fury – always and immediately – on just about anything. Yet while there was plenty of reaction from Deontay Wilder, there were only crickets from Fury during the first few hours after Joshua carefully and cleverly boxed his way to a unanimous decision over Ruiz, who stopped him in a huge upset last June.

It could be that the multi-tasking Fury was just too busy. There’s a looming rematch with Wilder in February. There’s wrestling, mixed-martial arts, singing, a book tour and who-knows-what-all. Still U.K. fans wanted to know. Where was Fury?

In a review of social media reactions by the Express, a U.K. newspaper, there was this among many from one Joshua fan:

“Ahhhhh That feeling when you wake up in the morning to the realisation of who the real Dossers are!!!!!”

The social media attack also targeted Wilder, who didn’t take long to respond. But Fury was mute, at least for a while, which in the Twitter age is way too long.

Meanwhile, Fury trainer Ben Davison did respond.

He said Ruiz’s weight was a critical factor. Ruiz showed up about 15 pounds heavier than he was in his stunning stoppage of Joshua on June 1.

“I think the weight killed him,’’ Davison told iFL TV. “I think that he knew he needed to close the gap. Except, if he thought Joshua was going to close the gap for him, which was his (Joshua’s) mistake in the first fight.

“He’s not got the quickest of feet anyway. So, to put that extra weight on was going to slow his feet down even more. That was a big, big hindrance for him.”

Davison went on to talk about Joshua’s tactics. He praised Joshua in what was also a backhanded compliment.

“It was like a poor man’s Tyson Fury, wasn’t it?’’ Davison said. “That’s not in a nasty way, because, you know, obviously he can’t do it to the level of Tyson. But it was the tactics and he did well. It was a 50-50 fight and he came out with the win, so it was a good performance.”

Davison then tried to backtrack on what he said about Joshua, saying that Fury’s U.K. rival was smart to maintain distance with footwork and always knowing where he was in the ring.

“It looked a big ring,’’ Davison said. “But listen, I’m not going to say, ‘Oh this, oh that.’ It’s better for British boxing that Joshua won, because that means there’s big shows in the U.K.’’

Fury trainer Ben Davison: ’Luis Ortiz is fantastic but he’s not Tyson Fury’

Ben Davison, the trainer of Tyson Fury, admires Deontay Wilder KO victim Luis Ortiz but says his fighter is at another level.

LAS VEGAS – It didn’t take long for the focus to shift to Tyson Fury, at least for a while.

Ben Davison, Fury’s trainer, witnessed Deontay Wilder’s one-punch knockout of Luis Ortiz first hand Saturday night at the MGM Grand and was asked by Sky Sports afterward what he thought.

Fury survived a hellacious knockdown in the final round to go the distance with Wilder in a controversial draw last December. They are tentatively scheduled to meet again in February.

“I’ve said before: Luis Ortiz is a fantastic fighter but he’s not Tyson Fury,” Davison said. “I also learned that he was a different man fight week to what he was to when he fought Tyson. Tyson 100 per cent got under his skin. I definitely saw that in there, which is pretty understandable. Pressure of a big fight around the corner affected him.”

He went on: “How do you (beat Wilder)? I’m not going to say my ideas on how you would do it, but it’s certainly not what Luis Ortiz did here tonight.”

Wilder was then asked to respond to Davison’s comments. He wasn’t happy.

“Every time a person fights, we see different holes and different things,” Wilder said. “You’re not going to be perfect in a fight, no one is. I hope he took notes and carries it back to his camp because I’m going to knock Fury out like I did the first time. Point blank, period. I’m not worried about what anyone says. I’m proven.

“If they were so sure about certain things and what they’d seen, he would have took the rematch immediately. I’m not running round doing a 100,000 things (like Fury). I was the one who demanded the rematch after a controversial decision.

“I’m the one fighting the best in the division. There’s no other fighters taking risks in any fights.”

That’s just a taste of the pre-fight hype. Stand by.