Tyson Fury and Lawrence Okolie are both under the tutelage of SugarHill Steward, and they could serve to benefit from the shared gym time.
After making a comeback under Ben Davison and fighting to a draw with Deontay Wilder, Fury left the Brit to link up with Steward, who promised to bring out a more aggressive fighting style to stop the Alabama heavyweight in a rematch.
That worked, and ‘The Gypsy King’ has since won all of his latest fights by stoppage. It was this new aggressive style that prompted Okolie – previously trained by Shane McGuigan – to recruit Steward for his own campaign.
Okolie is currently WBO Cruiserweight Champion, and set to defend that title against David Light on March 25.
After camp in Miami, he touched down in the UK with the trainer, who was quick to link up with Fury amidst the rumours that a fight with unified heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk, will be announced in the coming days.
As Fury starts his training and Okolie finishes his, the pair hit the bag together.
The final ingredients to The Sauce with @Tyson_Fury 🍯🔥@Lawrence_tko x The Gypsy King with SugarHill Steward ahead of #OkolieLight this Saturday 👑#BOXXERManchester | 25.03.23 | @SkySportsBoxingpic.twitter.com/8pNRVAQoQU
— BOXXER (@boxxer) March 19, 2023
The benefits of being in the same gym are clear for both.
Usyk is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, and Okolie being on hand to provide a 200lb sounding board, and perhaps sparring partner, for Fury’s preparations could help come fight night, proposed for April 29.
Having said that, Okolie’s shared division is where many would end the comparisons. He’s taller and rangier than Usyk, with an awkward style that doesn’t match the Ukrainian’s fleetness of foot or ability to find angles to throw his shots.
As for Okolie, he’s made his heavyweight aspirations clear for the future, and who better to give him a taste of the division than the WBC World Champion?
Steward’s uncle, Emanuel, trained the likes of Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko in the now famous ‘Kronk’ style – and SugarHill will be keen to see the knockout tradition kept up in these next two bouts.