Tyson Fury’s coach has opened up about the long-running criticism against the Fury corner after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. The trainer defended their work, suggesting that ‘The Gypsy King’s’ cornermen were simply functioning like they and the star boxer generally do.
Back in May 2024, then-WBC and consensus lineal heavyweight champion Fury took on then-WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Usyk. With the big four (WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF) belts on the line, the fight was to crown boxing’s new undisputed heavyweight champion for the first time since Lennox Lewis in April 2000.
The back-and-forth fight witnessed Usyk notably stun and almost finish Fury in round nine. The Englishman survived and fought out the match’s remainder. Ultimately, the judges gave Usyk a split decision victory, making him the undisputed heavyweight champion and handing him the aforementioned belts.
Usyk subsequently vacated the IBF belt, which is currently held by his former opponent Daniel Dubois. Presently, Usyk is scheduled to defend his WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, and Ring Magazine belts against Fury in their rematch on Dec. 21, 2024.
Several fans and experts opined that Tyson Fury’s corner was in shambles and that there were too many confusing voices rather than one clear source of advice. Tyson’s father, former boxer John Fury, was particularly criticized. Some critics accused him of being the loudest whilst not offering any sound guidance and drowning out head coach SugarHill Steward and assistant coach Andy Lee.
Speaking to BoxNation, Tyson Fury’s second cousin and longtime teammate, Lee addressed the Oleksandr Usyk matchup. Ireland’s Lee, who’s himself a former WBO middleweight champion, came to John’s defense and stated:
“Nothing went wrong in the corner. Nothing … It wasn’t chaos. You’ve got a dad in the corner, and John was saying a lot of good things. He was giving good advice, but he’s also coming from the perspective of a dad who’s watching his son in the fight.”
Additionally, Lee explained that Steward was in the corner and that Tyson Fury always listens to the head coach anyway. He pointed out that Steward and Fury have their short-hand phrases they communicate with, which may not make sense to others but are understood by the duo.
UFC legend Michael Bisping on supposed corner chaos hurting Tyson Fury against Oleksandr Usyk
UFC legend Michael Bisping and even Peter Fury were among the many prominent personalities who lambasted Tyson Fury’s corner. Taking to his YouTube channel, Bisping specifically called out John Fury for shouting over Steward and Lee’s instructions during crucial moments between rounds.
The former UFC middleweight champion underscored that ‘The Gypsy King’s’ corner was giving him conflicting advice instead of calming him down and giving him technical pointers to outsmart his foe. Emphasizing the importance of good corner work, Bisping said:
“You need a cool, calm, collected corner. The corner-work for 60 seconds, in a situation where the stakes are so high, is absolutely vital.”
