Sugarhill Steward insists that he and Tyson Fury have already agreed on what is required to defeat Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
Fury and Usyk return to the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to contest the WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight titles seven months after Usyk outpointed Fury to win the undisputed title in one of the fights of 2024.
It was the dramatic ninth round, when the 36-year-old Fury so nearly got stopped, that ultimately delivered victory for Usyk.
In the aftermath of what unfolded criticisms were aimed at Fury’s corner, where Steward, his assistant trainer Andy Lee and Fury’s father John vied to be heard, but Steward is regardless adamant that very little needs to change.
“What went wrong was Tyson got caught in the ninth round, he got knocked down, and that knockdown cost him the fight,” the trainer told BoxingScene.
“If you say all the other things, which everybody else seems to think is more important – to me, the most important thing is, don’t get caught in the ninth round. Don’t get caught, period. You make a mistake, you get caught – don’t make the mistake again. Simple as.
“Obviously [Fury] knows – in life, you learn lessons. This ain’t the first lesson he’s learned in life, where he’s been knocked down and had to get up or whatever, so it’s how you respond to what happens to you in life which makes you a better person.
“[I’m] as confident as I was last time. I didn’t know he was going to get caught. He didn’t know either, obviously, or he wouldn’t have got caught.”
“I don’t sense any frustrations from Tyson. He knows he made a mistake and he has to correct that mistake. The mistake has to be corrected; don’t let the mistake happen.”
Steward was then asked if sharing the ring with Usyk had made the rematch even more difficult because of the opportunity the Ukrainian, 37, had had to learn to read Fury and what adjustments are required, and he responded: “They both shared the ring so they both gained experience. Don’t get caught.”
Read the full article here
