Tyson Fury bans his ‘distracting’ dad from Usyk re-match
John Fury will not be in his son Tyson’s corner for Saturday’s world heavyweight title showdown against Oleksandr Usyk, the Gypsy King’s trainer has confirmed. Tyson, 36, is bidding to bounce back after losing to the Ukrainian by split decision back in May, with Usyk becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 following his triumph in Saudi Arabia. The Gypsy King’s father John, 59, was criticised by several fans for his behaviour in the build-up to May’s fight, having been left bloodied after headbutting a member of Usyk’s camp. John was left bleeding from his forehead after he launched the attack in the lobby of the Riyadh Hilton Hotel in Saudi Arabia. Footage that quickly circulated on social media showed Fury Snr lashing out with his head towards Stanislav Stepchuk, who was wearing Usyk’s team tracksuit. He then had to be restrained after security stepped in to prevent any further confrontation. After the fight, fans suggested that John’s presence in the corner distracted Tyson from tactical advice being offered by his coach Andy Lee and trainer SugarHill Steward. Now, SugarHill has confirmed that Tyson’s father will not be present in the corner for Saturday’s showpiece. ‘Tyson is just ready right now, along with myself,’ the trainer said. ‘He has always has a silly demeanour, playing around, but this is a different side of him and he is 100 per cent ready.’ When asked exactly who will be in the corner, SugarHill replied: ‘Just myself, Andy Lee and the cutman, pretty much that’s it.’ Meanwhile, Lee admitted there we perhaps too many voices in Tyson’s corner last time. He added: ‘Last time the corner was hectic, especially towards the end of the fight. There were three different voices in there, SugarHill, John and me. ‘I can understand, from a dad’s point of view, he was trying to protect his son. But SugarHill was trying to win the fight. I was told Tyson was two rounds down and I had to communicate that to him.’ Tyson is determined to avenge his sole professional defeat — and perhaps has decided that his father’s exclusion from the corner will help him focus. The Gypsy King revealed earlier this week that he has not spoken to his wife Paris in three months after locking himself away for his training camp. Promoter Frank Warren has explained the thinking behind Tyson shutting himself off from the outside world ahead of this weekend’s heavyweight showdown. ‘His mind just needs to be Usyk,’ Warren exclusively told Mail Sport. Attempting to get into the mind of the Gypsy King, he added: ‘This is what I’ve got to do. I don’t want to be distracted. ‘I don’t want to know if there’s a problem at home. I don’t know if I’ve got a business problem. All I want to do is focus on this. This is what I want. I need to win this fight. ‘It’s not about the belts, it’s about beating the guy who got the decision in the last fight in a very, very close fight, a split decision. He needs and feels he’s got to do this to win that. ‘I’ve got to sacrifice, I’ve got to be in that mood, I’ve got to be in that mindset, I’ve got to focus on this is what it is. And I’m not going to be deviated, no one’s going to distract me. Blinkers on, that’s it. And that’s where he’s at.’ Earlier this month, Tyson vowed to take his rematch against Usyk more seriously this time, admitting he did too much ‘clowning’ during the last bout. He said: ‘I’ll just throw more this time. Keep hitting him in the face more often than I did last time. ‘I’m just going to box smart, box clever and if I catch him, get him out of there. ‘retty similar to what I did last time. ‘A little bit less clowning around and a bit more focus and that’s it, really. ‘I did more clowning than anybody in any high-level fight’s ever done. ‘It’s taken my focus away as well, so maybe a little less clowning and more focus on the actual victory. I was messing around too much in there.’
