“Don’t get caught in 9th round” – Fury’s trainer, Sugarhill on rematch with Usyk

Tyson Fury’s trainer Sugarhill Steward has a simple fight strategy for the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, saying: “Don’t get caught in the ninth round” on December 21. Sugarhill says that’s all there is.

Steward says he has yet to watch the replay of Fury’s 12-round split decision loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) on May 18 earlier this year.

It is unclear why he did not watch the replay, as he is supposed to prepare the 36-year-old Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) for this important fight. If Fury loses again, it will negatively affect the all-British clash between him and Anthony Joshua in 2025.

Will Sugarhill’s simple strategy work?

Many boxing fans have and still are calling for Fury to fire Sugarhill after his loss to Usyk. The fans felt that Sugarhill was a limited trainer who only taught Fury how to use his size to tear his opponents apart. It only worked effectively with Deontay Wilder and British fight fighters Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.

They were ineffective when Fury tried Sugarhill’s tactics against Francis Ngannou and Usyk. That’s all he has. In other words, garbage in, garbage outand Fury chose to keep Sugarhill rather than drop him for a better trainer.

“I didn’t watch the tape. I haven’t seen the tape yet. I just know that Tyson was caught in the ninth round, and I want to fix that,” said trainer Sugarhill Stewart. Second salt when asked if he watched the tape of his fighter Tyson Fury getting hurt in the ninth round in his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.

Sugarhill doesn’t say why he didn’t watch the tape of Fury’s loss because it would have taken only 36 minutes to sit through it and discuss what he did wrong and come up with a better strategy than just holding and leaning like he tried last time.

“I’m not into the weight thing. Heavyweights can fight at whatever weight they feel comfortable,” Sugarhill said. “Tyson Fury was in shape for that fight. There’s no need to say, ‘I wasn’t in shape,’ because then that’s like making an excuse. He was in shape for that fight, and he got caught in the ninth round. I don’t know what else to say.”

Fury did not look in good shape at all for his fight last time against Usyk. He looked like he was carrying some extra groceries around his middle, and his sides had large chunks of visible fat that shouldn’t have been there. Fury was in much better shape for his rematch against Deontay Wilder four years ago on February 22, 2020. He was more muscular and more agile for that fight.

“Don’t get caught in the ninth round; that’s the plan. Doesn’t matter what round,” says Sugarhill of his game plan for Fury’s rematch. “Just don’t get caught. Exactly what I thought before that fight. Nothing has changed. Nothing more, nothing left,” says an annoyed-sounding Sugarhill. “The champion that he is, the great fighter that he is, there was another great fighter. You have seen a great battle.”

It was by no means a big fight between Fury and Usyk last May. Fury was out on his feet in the ninth round, taking numerous head shots, and saved by the referee, who stopped the action out of the blue to give him a standing eight found. Many fans believe the referee saved Fury from being knocked out in that fight. It wasn’t much of a fight if you’re Fury. Usyk didn’t do well either. He gassed after the ninth round and failed to finish a still hurt Fury in the tenth.

“I just know what Tyson and I talked about, and we talked about, ‘Don’t get caught.’ Always,” Sugarhill said when asked if the prediction for the rematch was Fury by knockout.