Sugarhill Steward Contemplating Retirement
It came as a surprise to many when Tyson Fury decided to split with previous trainer Ben Davidson in favor of Javan “Sugarhill” Steward. The shift took place in the lead-up to his February 22 rematch against former WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and Steward started working together planting the seeds for the Wilder rematch on January 1, 2020. Their intent was constructing a plan to march forward in search of a knockout. To many, that strategy seemed to be confusing. Why go forward and take the fight to Wilder, a fighter known as arguably the hardest puncher in the sport?
Well, the plans they laid during training camp paid off in huge dividends. Fury dominated Wilder en route to a 7th round TKO win to capture the WBC World Heavyweight title. For the fighter known as “Gypsy King”, he didn’t just defeat Wilder, he gave him a sustained beating that will last in the memories of boxing fans for years to come.
ONE AND DONE
After the fight, Steward told BT Sport Boxing the plan was for Fury to start the fight strong and hard, keep your range, but take the fight to him. He said he was sure and this ranks right up there with the best moments of his career.
So it’s safe to say the pairing of he and Fury was a huge success. However, after the fight Steward made a surprising statement. Asked how long will it be before he talks to Fury about getting back into the gym, Steward’s answer suggests this may be a one-and-done.
“I’m thinking about retiring after this fight. There’s nothing else for me to do. I’m going to go home and train amateurs. I want to bring up some more champions.”
If Steward is indeed ready to retire, could you blame him? He’s been a success as a trainer, previously working with the likes of former WBC world Light Heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. Fury’s destruction of Wilder is as good as it gets for a trainer and would be the culmination of a very good career.
On the other hand, if the Fury-Sugarhill combo gets off to this rousing start, imagine how well the two would do with more fights in the fold, with more time to work with each other and learn? As good as Fury looked during his win over Wilder, it’s tempting to think how good he can become under the tutelage of Steward.
It’s a wait to see if he lives up to his word and decides to call it a day. On the surface, it’s safe to say with some time to ponder and think, we will see the man known as “Sugarhill” work the corner of Tyson Fury for some time to come.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
