The forthcoming rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury has been likened to the classic match-ups featuring ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali and rival Joe Frazier.
Sugarhill Steward, the nephew of Manny and the new trainer of Fury, believes the saga with Wilder holds similarities to the 1970’s wars.
Fury and Wilder battled to a draw in December 2018, with the judges finding it hard to split the pair following an enthralling encounter.
As predicted pre-fight, the Los Angeles contest was purely a boxer vs. puncher affair. Many thought that if Fury stayed on his feet, he would see Wilder off on the cards.
But the American knockout managed to drop Fury twice, the second one a hellacious double whammy, but somehow the Brit got back up.
It’s all leading into a mouth-watering rematch on February 22nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which will be Steward’s first fight in the Fury camp.
Speaking exclusively to World Boxing News, Steward also praised Fury for managing his immense size as an athlete.
“I do think Tyson Fury is one of the best of recent years as he can do a lot of things,” Steward told WBN. “He’s very coordinated for a big man, a man of that size like a LeBron James or something.
“He can do a lot of things smaller guys can do with ease. That’s not normally a thing from a big guy.
“Muhammad Ali was one of those fighters who did that for a heavyweight division. He did a lot of things that the big guys couldn’t do. Ali did things that the smaller guys were doing, which made him a very effective heavyweight in his time.
“He had those classic fights with Joe Frazier. Those are boxing classics. You had a boxer and puncher like here (with Wilder vs Fury). You have the same thing, a boxer, and a puncher.”
NUMBER ONE
Asked who he sees as the number one heavyweight of today, it was no surprise to hear Steward give the following response: “For me, in my opinion, I’m going to pick Tyson Fury as the top heavyweight with all the different things he can do.
“He’s the more well-rounded heavyweight than Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua. Out of the big three, he’s just the more versatile fighter.
“Deontay has that something nobody else has. He has that power. Anthony Joshua is good. His boxing career and his talent are super good as well.
“Those are the three top guys in the division right now,” Steward added.
