IT was a long and winding road to get back to virtually where he started. After working for his first 17 fights with uncle the late Hughie Fury Snr, Tyson Fury, then the undefeated British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, was ready to move on but, after exploring a few options, he ended up back with another uncle, Peter Fury, with whom he has remained ever since. Here, he explains the story of how it happened.
“I had the hard fight with Neven Pajkic [w rsf 3] and I got dropped for the first time,” Fury recalls of the November 2011 clash. “I was boxing for money basically. I wasnโt training hard, me and Hughie was having our arguments all the time. Iโd already got another trainer โ Chris Johnson from America โ and it wasnโt working out. He come over for a week and I didnโt really care if I won or lost. Peter said, โCome down, I wanna speak to you because youโre doing things all wrong. Youโre jabbin all crazy over your front foot, youโre gonna get knocked out. You need to get a proper trainer.โ He advised me to go to Brendan Ingleโs gym in Sheffield.
“So we organised all that and it was two weeks before I was due to start. But it would have never ever worked. I lived in Lancaster but I was gonna be training five days a week in Sheffield, living in a hotel by meself. That was never gonna work. Peter was training Hughie as an amateur and Matthew Barney. They were both coming off a few loses. So I went to train with them while I was waiting to go to Sheffield. I knew Peterโs mentality and weโve trained on and off with him for years. But itโd only ever last a week or 10 days then heโd be gone โ France, Germany, Holland, Turkey wherever. Heโd be off globetrotting, so I thought, โThis ainโt gonna last with him.โ After two weeks I said, โWill you train me because weโre doing well here and I donโt wanna go down to Ingles?โ Thatโs that.
“He promised me that he wouldnโt run around the world and Iโd be left without a trainer. We trained from January 2012 to April, losing weight. Then we had the Martin Rogan fight [w rsf 5], which I went southpaw for. I couldnโt throw a jab when me and Peter started, I was leaning forward and getting overhand-righted; I had no footwork. The only thing I had was a big heart, I was a big lump and Hughie taught me how to run the knuckles properly when I landed. We were day in, day out, working on the feet, working on the jab. I was 17-0, British and Commonwealth champion, inside the top 10 in the world, I had no footwork and I couldnโt throw a left jab. The right hand Iโd throw as a hook because if I threw it straight and missed Iโd fall over. We went back to zero, started from the beginning again so Iโm basically a 7-0 novice. Iโve gone from having no footwork to Iโd say the best in the world because I donโt know any heavyweight in history, especially a massive one, who can go 12 rounds, switching stance all the way through. Thatโs what Peter done.”
Peter chips in: “I still went all around the world, I just took him with me.”