Tyson Fury has ended his working relationship with long-time trainer Ben Davison two months before his title fight with Deontay Wilder.
Davison has been Fury’s trainer for the last two years and played an integral part in his return to the ring following his drug ban.
But it has emerged that Fury and Davison will now part ways and the Gypsy King will instead team up with Javan ‘Sugar’ Hill, nephew to the late Emmanuel Steward, in the lead-up to his title shot in Las Vegas.
‘Psychologist, Trainer, Friend, Brother’
Davison has been pivotal in Furys’ career, helping him to overcome problems with mental health, drink and drugs. He also oversaw Fury’s astonishing weight-loss as the 31-year-old looked to get his career back on track.
And the pair have been inseparable over the course of their relationship.
Talking to the BBC, Davison said of their friendship: “I’m psychologist, trainer, friend, brother, sometimes father-son to him and sometimes he’s father-son to me.”
It may surprise some therefore that the pair have parted ways so close to his rematch with Deontay Wilder.
But there seems to be no bad blood, with Davison claiming the decision was for the best for them both, and that the two remain close.
He wrote on Twitter: “Obviously it’s not gonna stop until there’s an answer, Tyson and myself had to both make decisions for our careers, which resulted in our working relationship coming to an end, HOWEVER, we remain friends and he will SMASH the DOSSER!!”
A Second Crack
Fury’s first encounter with Wilder ended in a draw in December 2018. But many felt the Gypsy King had the edge despite suffering an emphatic knockdown in the 12th round.
Davison is clearly still rooting for Fury to ‘smash the dosser’, but it will be ‘Sugar’ who sits in his corner as he tries to go one better in the second showdown.
Boxing Legend
The new trainer’s late uncle, Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Steward, is something of a boxing legend. He trained the likes of Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko.
And now his nephew will be looking to carry on the legacy by helping Fury claim the WBC title.
The showdown is set to take place 22 February 2020 in Las Vegas. It’ll be a massive PPV spectacle which may see Fury emerge as a champion.
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Tyson Fury and Ben Davison)