Ben Davison tells Danny Flexen he is prepared for Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury, and sets Eddie Hearn straight
With Tyson Fury and his trainer Ben Davison in the final stages of preparation for this Saturday’s Windsor Park, Belfast contest with Italian Francesco Pianeta – the second comeback fight for Wilmslow’s former unified heavyweight king – more coverage is already being afforded the larger-than-life boxer’s potential next contest. It is a mark both of how comfortable the majority believe Fury will be against Pianeta and of the excitement generated by a possible late-2018 showdown with WBC champion, Deontay Wilder.
When Fury began the current chapter of his career, alongside MTK Global, Davison and promoter Frank Warren, the original plan was for a minimum of three confidence-building, rust-shedding exercises before a move back into genuine contention. A Wilder challenge would somewhat accelerate that journey but Davison – who revealed to BBNthe details of Fury’s camp for Pianeta – is confident Tyson is ready for the leap.
“I see Eddie Hearn always saying, ‘When I spoke to Tyson [about signing him] the level of opponent he was looking for was nothing like Wilder so I don’t understand why he’s taking that fight.’,” Davison points out. “But that was at one of Tyson’s lowest points, of course at that point he’s not gonna feel the same as where he is now. He was 27-and-a-half stone [385lbs], now the weight’s gone, he’s been active, with two back-to-back training camps; it’s completely different.
“I believe that Tyson is the type of fighter to raise his game to what’s in front of him and also drop his performance to that in front of him. I believe Wilder is the most dangerous fighter in world boxing because he could be winning for 11 rounds, two minutes and 45 seconds, and he could still take you out with one shot. He’s improving fight after fight. I know people call him wild but that tends to happen when he has his opponent hurt. But he’s never fought anyone like Tyson and I’ve not seen anybody give Tyson a hard round in sparring and he’s had all sorts [of partners]. In fact, we had one of Wilder’s close friends who was also his sparring partner that helped him prepare for Luis Ortiz and he said, ‘There’s only one winner in that fight.’”
For Davison, Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury would represent his biggest night thus far as a trainer, but he would rather be defined by his commitment than any reflected spotlight.
“I take every fight the same, from a small-hall fight at York Hall or Fury-Wilder, I give my best to anything I put my name to,” he asserts. “Isaac Lowe has a four-rounder on Saturday’s show and I gave just as much to him as Tyson. I’m never half-hearted. Wilder is just another job which will get done and done well.”