Tyson Fury’s trainer, SugarHill Steward, has addressed the idea that Oleksandr Usyk’s team saw flaws they could exploit in the Derek Chisora fight.
The unified heavyweight champion from Ukraine was in attendance to watch the division’s other belt holder, Fury, defend his title against Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The referee stepped in to wave the contest off in the tenth as the challenger took unnecessary punishment after never really troubling the champ at all.
Despite battering Chisora from pillar to post, a member of Usyk’s training team claimed that they had witnessed flaws in Fury’s game and that a contest between the two would be no harder for the Ukrainian than his fights against Anthony Joshua.
Speaking to Seconds Out, Steward leaned in to that thinking, likely happy that people think his fighter is on the slide when he knows different.
“Maybe Tyson got tired. Maybe Tyson’s old. Maybe he’s washed up and this was a good look for Usyk to maybe see some flaws in Tyson – or anybody else out there. Maybe they see flaws and they want to have a chance with him now.”
The coach – who has guided Fury to four stoppage victories in a row now – said it with a big smile, clearly believing that what he’s saying isn’t the case at all.
As for the timeline, Steward said he has ‘zero’ preference for the date or location of the fight and that the game plan would come when it was necessary.
An announcement as to both details is expected over the coming weeks, with the Middle East currently a frontrunner to host and the timing expected to be late February or the first week in March.