Tyson Fury’s coach has made a sensational claim that the British fighter is the greatest heavyweight boxer to have ever graced the sport.
The two-time champion of the world will take on Deontay Wilder this Saturday in the third instalment of their much-anticipated trilogy that most recently saw the Gypsy King dismantle the Bronze Bomber with a seventh-round TKO.
Fury, who was omitted from the WBC’s all-time top 10 greatest fighters list this week, is currently regarded as the best fighter in boxing’s glamour division, but his trainer SugarHill Steward believes Fury is already a better boxer than some of the champions that came before him.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Steward said: “I think about how Tyson has the characteristics of Lewis, Klitschko, Ali, Tyson and all the great heavyweights. He has all their characteristics and the mental toughness.
“He has everything they had and more. Tyson is a special boxer and he will have a special place in boxing history.”
After parting ways with former coach Ben Davison in 2019, the Gypsy King appointed Steward as his head coach, claiming that he “needed a knockout” in his second fight against Wilder after their first fight was controversially called a draw.
Fury also said: “If I was looking to nick a points win, I’d have stuck with Ben [Davison],” and instead sought the services of knockout specialist Steward, the nephew of renowned trainer Emmanuel Steward, whose mantra was always to go for knockouts and once said: “Never leave the result in the hands of the judges.”
Despite claiming Fury to be one of the greatest fighters in the world, SugarHill Steward also believed the 33-year-old could have been scoring more knockouts sooner, if Fury had sought his services 10 years ago.
Steward, who helped Fury defeat Wilder in 2020 with the famous Kronk fighting style, said: “Maybe if Tyson had come to us when he was 25 he would have been a knock-out artist sooner.
“But he had a great career already. Was at the top. We're not taking anything away from that. We're just doing some different things, learning and applying them with maximum efficiency.
“Before the second Wilder fight he had learned so much so quickly. You all saw the result. And in terms of fights, we're really only just getting started because of the long layoff.
“But we didn't waste those 20 months since Wilder 11. We had a number of camps and good as he already was he has improved a lot. He has been so focused and absorbed a lot. He is wiser now and wisdom is important in boxing.
“My job is to make Tyson Fury the best Tyson Fury he can be. We are very excited about this fight because he can go out there now and showcase skills and talents which many people don't realise he has."