Trainer Ben Davison has come out swinging after Tyson Fury's Dad, John, told the media his son looked weak in Saturday night's fight with Otto Wallin. The bout went the distance, with Fury eventually winning on points, against the unfaniced Swede in Las Vegas.
A huge cut sustained above his eye early on made it a tough night for Fury, and he ended up needing more than 40 stitches. His Dad insisted his son wasn't right and put the blame on Davison and others in his camp, claiming they could cost Tyson his career. In response Davison has said:
“John is Tyson’s Dad so of course you have to respect him. But Tyson was fully prepared and you can’t do anything about sustaining a bad cut.
“Just because he’s gone 12 rounds it doesn’t mean he’s weak. If he was weak he wouldn’t have been able to do 12 rounds there.”
Davison, who also trains WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, helped Fury get his motivation back after the heavyweight fell into depression in 2015. Since then, the tactician has guided his charge to four victories and a draw following a dramatic ten stone weight loss. The young cornerman, with steely confidence beyond his years, continued to defended his position, adding:
”We worked in training camp for it to potentially be a dogfight because we knew that we might have to go there. Otto had heart and balls and tried to close the gap up and luckily we had prepared Tyson in case it went that way because that’s what he needed."
There's been widespread reaction to John Fury's comments, which came just after his son's laboured victory over Wallin. The former bare knuckle boxer said:
"He was as weak as a kitten. He has done an eight-week camp but his strength and power have gone. His body looked a lot softer tonight."
Wallin, 28, entered the ring as a heavy underdog, but hurt the former unified heavyweight champion with a flush left hook in the third round, leaving him in a sea of blood.
Fury responded by taking control in the second half of the contest, keeping the hungry challenger at bay with is height and reach advantage. The Swede was being outclassed but he did rally in the final round, landing solid shots through Fury's uncharacteristically leaky defence. Despite his valiant effort, all three judges rightly ruled unanimously in favour of the Brit, whose below-par performance infuriated his father, who said:
“It has gone terribly wrong in the camp and someone is to blame. Tyson never landed a meaningful punch.
“If Tyson had been in front of one of the top-three or Alexander Povetkin, he would not have won. I am a straight talker and that is the worst I have ever seen him.
"I have seen this coming. I saw this coming. If he keeps hold of that team, that whole team, they will cost him his career. Ben Davison and everyone,” Fury senior continued.
A bloodied Fury required 47 stitches to close his gaping wound but remains on course to rematch WBC King Deontay Wilder next year. Every fighter has a bad night at the office. Fury's defence and timing will improve. The real concern is whether the horror cut will come back to haunt him as he prepares for the hardest-hitting heavyweight on the planet.
