Tyson Fury in the corner against Oleksandr Usyk (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
has confessed uncertainty over his father John’s presence in his corner for the colossal rematch against .
The ‘Gypsy King’ is attempting to reclaim world champion status by redeeming himself after his sole career loss to the formidable Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. But with days to go before the first bell, Fury claims he doesn’t know if his dad will be part of his team after he came in for criticism for his advice during May’s first fight.
In the lead up to that fight, John also caused a stir when he headbutted a member of Usyk’s entourage, contributing to a history of controversies that include clashing with opponents’ camps during his sons’ fight weeks. His recent altercation with former UFC fighter Darren Till, which saw him squirting water, sparked calls for his ringside ban.
And Fury, the ex-WBC heavyweight champion, insists he remains focused solely on training and fighting under the watch of SugarHill Steward and Andy Lee rather than his dad. “I don’t know,” Fury said regarding whether his dad will be in his corner. “I don’t get involved in all that s***e. I just go to the gym, train and fight, get paid, go home. That’s what I have always done.”
Fury Sr faced harsh criticism from boxing commentator Carl Froch for his behaviour in Saudi Arabia last year. “That was bad. Terrible and really unprofessional in his corner,” Froch commented at the time. “When you’ve got John Fury in the corner, screaming at you while you’ve got two other people giving you advice, that means you’re listening to absolutely nobody.”
Coach Lee also confessed that there might have been too many voices in the corner as Fury grappled with conflicting advice during his loss to Usyk. “Last time the corner was hectic, especially towards the end of the fight,” he admitted. “There were three different voices in there, SugarHill, John and me. I can understand, from a dad’s point of view, [Fury Snr] was trying to protect his son. But SugarHill was trying to win the fight.”
Even Fury Sr’s brother Peter chimed in, telling October Red: “Some can be too emotional in the corner, someone is giving the wrong advice. I think the only one who spoke a little bit of sense in that corner, in the last dying stretch of it, I’m not criticising the rest of them, was Sugar Hill. He said: ‘Put it on him’. I’m sure I heard that. ‘Go forward, stop crossing your legs, set on your shots’. I think that was the best advice out of all of it.”
“For me there was just too many people, but maybe Tyson wants that, I don’t know. It’s been years since he dealt with me. I don’t know what the situation is, but clearly, for me, the game plan was wrong and there were too many people in the corner. Whichever of them one, two or three, only one of them should have been doing the speaking. Whichever one it was, just one. not three or four, because, how can you listen to that? “.