Tyson Fury will only receive instructions from coach SugarHill Steward during his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk following a barrage of criticism about his corner.
Fury was beaten on points by Usyk in their undisputed clash in May as the Brit lost for the first time as a professional. In the aftermath, his corner of Steward, coach Andy Lee and between rounds with Fury told both that he was winning and losing the fight.
And for the December 21 sequel, Lee has revealed only Steward will be barking orders in the minute's rest. "There was a lot of voices in the corner – we were in a dire situation, and had to get him back to himself, pull him out of it," .
"I was told, and I believed, he was two rounds down, so I had to speak up about that. His dad was giving him great advice, I thought, but he’s also a dad, and that’s his son. ‘Suga’ should have been the only voice, and he will be the only voice in the next fight. When you lose, you’re open to criticism, but it shows Tyson trusts his team – that he doesn’t want to change.
"A lot of guys would have looked for an excuse – blamed it on the team – but he’s not changing his team. Hopefully it works out for him. It was very close, the first fight. [He said:] 'I’ve got to be better; I’ve got to concentrate more, and I’ll win the rematch.' It is as simple as that, really. Obviously it’s not as simple as that doing it – but saying it, it is."
Fury's promoter Frank Warren also expects the fighter's corner to be more controlled on fight night. "Tyson's not a fool. He's a very sensible guy. He knows backwards. He knows what's got to be done and he'll make sure it happens," he told Sky Sports.
"Of course you don't want lots of voices but you've got to understand it was his dad who was in the corner with him, he wanted his dad in the corner and his dad's concerned about his son, especially when he was hurt in that ninth round. Emotions can take over. But you know what? That corner can't be emotional. It's got to be cool, calm and collected and I'm sure that will be the case next time."
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