Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk again this weekend but doubts remain over if Joh Fury will be in the corner after the chaos of their first meeting
Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk again this weekend but doubts remain over if Joh Fury will be in the corner after the chaos of their first meeting Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk again this weekend but doubts remain over if Joh Fury will be in the corner after the chaos of their first meeting
The debate after the first fight centred around the corner.
Did John Fury have too much influence? Why was the father of Tyson Fury even in there with trainer SugarHill Steward and Andy Lee? There have been no sightings so far this week of John. Yet. The last time at this stage of the fight week he had already spilled his own blood by headbutting a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s team. Drama often follows him.
Nobody knows if he will be here at all, never mind take his place in the corner again. If they do then they’re keeping it a closely guarded secret. Fury, 36, is unperturbed but those around him didn’t see the fuss with the corner like those outside the team did after he lost his unbeaten record in the undisputed heavyweight showdown with Usyk back in May.
“John is his dad and he is a father looking after his son,” said Lee, the former world middleweight champion and cousin of Fury. “I don’t think anything John said was wrong. He was saying the right things. Sugar says after round 11, don’t have to throw them hard, just throw them light and John was saying or reiterating the same thing. I was told, unequivocally, that he was two rounds down, and he needs the last two rounds.
“I knew that so I’m not going to not say that. If I’m fighting I want to know that. I want to know if I’m losing or if I need a knockout to win the fight. “That was my advice – you have to win the last two rounds – win these these last two rounds you will win the fight.”
Lee – a veteran of 39 professional fights and an Olympian as an amateur – has been around boxing too long to be concerned about criticism. He’s had it as a fighter and he has had it as a trainer, a career he is still carving out alongside the rejuvenated Joseph Parker. “I don’t care about the criticism anyways,” said Lee, as he jetted in to be part of Fury’s team for the rematch this weekend. “When you lose you’re open to criticism. When Joseph lost to [Joe] Joyce, we all got criticism.
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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns again on December 21 with the Brit attempting to avenge his defeat by the Ukrainian in May. Victory for Fury could also set up a huge domestic showdown with bitter rival Anthony Joshua next year
“When he beats [Zhilei] Zhang and [Deontay] Wilder then I’m trainer of the year, know what I mean? “Ben Davison was trainer of the year and now he’s supposedly a fool because he told [Anthony] Joshua to throw an uppercut [against Daniel Dubois ]. “But if that uppercut landed – which it could have at any time – then Ben Davison is a genius. These things happen.”
Lee adds he won’t be giving any advice on who will or won’t be in the corner this weekend if John does arrive in Riyadh. But his focus will be on helping Fury avenge his only career defeat. Usyk hurt Fury in the ninth and forced a count, which was crucial on the cards as the Ukrainian won 114-113 and 115-112 with two judges and the Gypsy King got it 114-113 on the other.
“Usyk will know he can hurt Tyson and that’s a big thing,” added Lee. “He will think if he hurts Tyson again, he will get the finish. “But Tyson will probably get some confidence from it because he was at his worst there and Usyk couldn’t finish him.”
Mirror – Sport
