Tyson Fury’s trainer, Sugarhill Steward, has a simple fight strategy for the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, saying, “Don’t get caught in the ninth round” on December 21st. Sugarhill says that’s all there is to it.
Steward states that he has yet to watch the replay of Fury’s 12-round split decision defeat to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) on May 18th earlier this year.
It’s unclear why he hasn’t watched the replay, considering that he’s supposed to be preparing the 36-year-old Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) for this important fight. If Fury loses again, it’ll negatively affect the all-Briitsh clash between him and Anthony Joshua in 2025.
Will Sugarhill’s Simple Strategy Work?
Many boxing fans were and still are calling for Fury to fire Sugarhill after his loss to Usyk. The fans felt that Sugarhill was a limited trainer who only taught Fury how to use his size to maul his opponents. This only worked effectively with Deontay Wilder and the British journeymen fighters Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
They were ineffective when Fury tried Sugarhill’s tactics against Francis Ngannou and Usyk. That’s all he has. In other words, junk in, junk out, and Fury chose to keep Sugarhill rather than ditch him for a better trainer.
“I haven’t watched the tape. I haven’t seen the tape yet. I just know that Tyson got caught in the ninth round, and I want to correct that,” said trainer Sugarhill Stewart to Secondsout when asked if he’s watched back the tape of his fighter Tyson Fury getting hurt in the ninth round in his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th.
Sugarhill doesn’t say why he hasn’t watched the tape of Fury’s loss because it only would have taken 36 minutes of time to sit through it and discuss what he did wrong and come up with a better strategy than just holding & leaning like he tried last time.
“I’m not into the weight thing. Heavyweights can fight at whatever weight they feel comfortable at,” said Sugarhill. “Tyson Fury was in shape for that fight. There’s no need to say, ‘I wasn’t in shape because then that’s like making an excuse. He was in shape for that fight, and he got caught in the ninth round. I don’t know what else to be said.”
Fury didn’t look in great shape at all for his fight last time against Usyk. He appeared to be carrying around some extra groceries around his midsection, and his sides had huge chunks of visible fat that shouldn’t have been there. Fury was in far better shape for his rematch against Deontay Wilder four years ago on February 22nd, 2020. He was more muscular and trim for that fight.
“Don’t get caught in the ninth round; that’s the plan. Never mind what round,” said Sugarhill on his game plan for Fury’s rematch. “Just don’t get caught. Exactly what I thought before that fight. Nothing has changed. Nothing more, nothing left,” said an annoyed-sounding Sugarhill. “The champion that he is, the great fighter that he is, there was another great fighter. You saw a great a** fight.”
That wasn’t a great fight by any means between Fury and Usyk last May. Fury was out on his feet in the ninth round, taking numerous headshots, and saved by the referee, who stopped the action out of the blue to give him a standing eight found. Many fans believe the referee saved Fury from being knocked out in that fight. That was not a great fight if you’re Fury. Usyk didn’t perform well either. He gassed out after the ninth round and failed to finish off a still hurt Fury in the tenth.
“I just know what me and Tyson talked about, and we talked about, ‘Don’t get caught.’ Always,” said Sugarhill when asked if the prediction for the rematch is Fury by knockout.
