Tyson Fury is currently seen as the most unbeatable heavyweight on the planet. WBN looks at why the six-foot-nine-inch brute seems to be impenetrable.
Scouring the hype surrounding Fury’s record, one statistic seems to be sticking out when attempting to come up with a reason for his massive turnaround.
Fury ‘rose from the dead’ against Deontay Wilder in 2018. Since then, “The Gyspy King” has had five significant stoppages out of six victories.
The remarkable fact that stands out is that Fury parted company with five prominent team members since fighting Wilder for the first time.
To any average boxer, this is usually a recipe for disaster. However, it wasn’t for fury. The switch-up only made him stronger.
In December 2018, Fury was seemingly out for the count in Los Angeles. At the time, Ben Davison led a three-strong corner team of legendary figures in Freddie Roach and Ricky Hatton.
Tyson Fury’s cornerman changes
In the aftermath, Roach and Hatton moved on as Fury made his assault on the Las Vegas strip in 2019.
In addition, just months before his rematch battle with Wilder in February 2020, Fury fired his entire team Suggestions at the time pointed to the possibility it came on the advice of father John.
Fury Sr. was highly critical of Davison as a pundit for BT Sport for the previous Otto Wallin fight in September 2019.
“I’ve never seen him so bad,” Fury told BT Sport host Paul Dempsey. “He looked weight drained.
“He looked like he left it all in the gym, to be honest with you. From the second round on, there was no snap. There was no natural movement.
“He’s a lucky man to get the win, to be honest. Very lucky indeed. I don’t know how he’s gained from the third to the twelfth round [with that cut].
“I just think he’s a very lucky chap to come out the winner. But that’s not Tyson in there.
“Whatever’s gone wrong in that camp, and it has gone terribly wrong, someone is to blame. He didn’t look like he had the strength from the word off.”
John Fury advice
John continued: “His timing was off. His distance was terrible. He never threw a meaningful shot, really. The only ones he landed were labored shots, hoping to get him out of there.
“That’s my son, but that’s the worst I’ve seen him.
“It’s a circus. The lot would be gone if I had my way [Ben Davison and team]. The lot would be gone. Looking at that there, if he keeps hold of that team, they will cost him his career.
“The team being Ben Davison, whoever he’s got around him now. He [Ben] must look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m not good enough,’ and it’s proven tonight.
“The cutman [Jorge Capetillo] was the only worthwhile man in that team. Credit to him because how can you fix that? – They [the cutman] saved his life [career-wise].
Deontay Wilder trilogy
Despite praising cutman Jorge Capetillo, Fury replaced the Mexican with ‘Stitch’ Duran for the Wilder return. That brings the total cornermen given their marching orders to five [including corner third for Wallin].
For Wilder II, trainer SugarHill Steward took the reigns Fury’s cousin Andy Lee and the returning Duran.
Fury changing so much in a short space of time, just fourteen months from fight one, had an astounding effect.
He took Wilder out in seven rounds and stopped him again in the trilogy. He followed that up with early nights against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora to bring the total with Steward to four straight knockouts.
The whole move was a masterstroke; only time will tell if Fury will retire undefeated.
