Tyson Fury’s brother, Shane Fury, has criticized their father John Fury’s corner work in the Oleksandr Usyk fight. 

Fury lost a split decision as Usyk became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. Despite it being close on the cards, Usyk was far by far the dominant fighter. Aside from the middle rounds, Usyk was in control. He landed more power shots, pushed Fury on the back foot, and almost knocked him out. The referee intervened to give Fury a standing eight count when Uysk was going for the finish in round nine. After the fight, much was said about the corner work.

Fury stated that he would have pressed the action if he knew he was losing the fight. His comments suggested that the instructions in the corner were not clear. Fury had SugarHill Steward, Andy Lee and his father, John Fury. Steward is seen as the head trainer, with Lee offering support. But John Fury’s voice dominated the exchanges, leading to mixed messages in the corner. Shane Fury felt that is what cost Tyson. 

Shane Fury Reacts

“My take is, deeply, truly, my honest opinion is my dad wants what’s the best for his son. And the best for his son after he’s been put down and nearly out cold is to get him through the fight. [In] boxing, you can be KO’d and not wake up. That’s his mentality ’cause he wants the best for his sons. But sometimes when you want the best for someone it’s maybe not the best instructions. Them instructions is sometimes not what you need,” Shane Fury said

In his post-fight comments, the Gypsy King remained adamant that he won the fight. He alleged that Usyk was only given the win due to the war in Ukraine. Even once the dust had settled, Fury rewatched the fight and still claimed he had won. 

“I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few of the rounds but I won the majority of them …. His country’s at war, and people are siding with the country at war, but make no mistake, I won that fight,” Fury revealed

Usyk Won

Tommy Fury doubled down on Tyson’s comments, feeling his brother should have seen his hand raised. Shane Fury initially supported the view once he was watching the fight live. But after having rewatched the tape, he has given Usyk his credit. He felt the Ukrainian was the better fighter and deservedly won the fight. 

“Watching it back, I thought Usyk won. I watched it back and Usyk, he won the fight in my opinion. Very close. The rounds that Tyson won, Tyson won big time and hurt him and so on. The rounds that Usyk won, before round nine … he nicked rounds. The damage was done – the eighth round he got punched on the nose and it disorientated him. He lost focus and then got caught. It’s heavyweight boxing,” Shane Fury added 

If Fury is to win the rematch on December 21, he must accept that he lost the fight. Having Shane in his corner will help him do that, allowing Fury to get a better game plan to win the rematch.