Tyson Fury - By his trainers old and new

In Monday’s press conference to promote the February 22 Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury rematch, the WBC heavyweight champion highlighted his rival’s propensity for changing trainers. No, not the footwear (Wilder would have called them sneakers) but the men who have helmed Fury’s corner and called the tune in the gym.

Below are comments about Fury by these men over the years, most of which were originally sourced by your author.

Steve Egan (amateur coach, worked with Fury 2002-2008)
I taught Tyson from day one. He hadn’t done any boxing before. He was this big, gangly kid. He was 6ft 4ins and 14st [196lbs], I saw him on the bag and said to me dad, ‘Heavyweight champion of the world.’ Me dad said, ‘He’s just walked in the bleeding door!’

Hughie Fury Sr (2008-2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
To BoxingNews24
When Tyson was an amateur he was a member of the Smithboro club in County Monaghan but none of the Irish super-heavyweights wanted to know about him and it will be the same in the pros.

Peter Fury (2012-2016)
Told to me for Fighting Fit in early 2013
The only thing he had was natural ability, nothing else. His fitness wasn’t there, he never had any physical strength. For me now, it’s the dedication he has. His day is programmed for him, he’s told what to do and it works. He was uneducated in his food. Now he’s on a good diet that he can adhere to. He’s 8.3% bodyfat, he’s in top fighting condition. A lot of [his footwork] is in the pad work, repetition till he gets it right. Also, he was dropping his hands a lot, he was square-on, which all comes from the feet. When he threw shots, he was leaning forward into the shots, which was taking away his reach. We worked on his balance and, from there, slipping, defending and riding shots.

Ben Davison (2017-2019)
The whole process with Tyson, from the very start in October 2017, was solely focused on losing weight while using boxing training. There is no point having a great skill-set if it is limited by being grossly overweight. A big part of Tyson’s skill-set is his athleticism. Tyson wouldn’t care, if it was best for his boxing, if he had to walk around at 25st [350lbs], but he enjoys training and looking good. Also it helps his mental heath, and anyone’s mental health, to look in the mirror and look in shape.

SugarHill Steward (2019-)
I saw him moving around [in 2009] and I was surprised at his ability to move like that, his athleticism; I was shocked, like ‘Wow’. He’s made big progress since. I spent a lot of time with him in camp, and outside camp, and I learned a lot from him then: the determination, the strong will. I’m excited at being able to work with him as he’s matured. He’s always enjoyed the technical aspect of my training. He doesn’t just want to throw punches, he wants to throw punches correctly. He’s always positive with me, a ‘life of the party’ type of guy, so we’ll have a lot of positive energy in camp.

Honourable mentions
John Fury (Various times throughout his life)
Rob McCracken (2009)
Brian Hughes/Pat Barrett (2010)
Chris Johnson (2011)
Emanuel Steward (2009, 2011)