Deontay Wilder trainer jokingly flirts with bringing Hughie Fury to camp

Deontay Wilder’s co-manager and trainer, Jay Deas, talked exclusively to FanSided about Wilder’s upcoming fight against undefeated Tyson Fury.

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has the eye-catching fight he’s always wanted. For months, Wilder’s team went back and forth with Anthony Joshua representatives to set up a unification bout.

Those negotiations fell apart when Joshua accepted a fight with Alexander Povetkin. Instead, Wilder will meet lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Wilder’s co-manager and trainer, Jay Deas, talked to FanSided about Wilder’s upcoming bout against Fury.

After Fury won by unanimous decision against Francesco Pianeta on Saturday, Fury and his promoter, Frank Warren, announced that they are fighting Wilder next.  Warren promised that there would be details released this week.

Warren told BBC Sports that the fight will take place in either November or December. November is the best bet.

Deas and Team Wilder have a lot of respect for Fury and his abilities. Deas believes that Fury is fighting his way back into prime shape.

"“He [Tyson Fury] definitely took a step up in competition,” Deas told FanSided. “From his first fight, he looked a lot better. His conditioning was a lot better. You could just see the layers of inactivity and the things he’s been through peeling off as the rounds went by. “"

Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to win the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titles. It was an ugly fight, but Fury landed more punches and was more active. Part of Fury’s talent is making good boxers look bad in the ring.

"“He can hypnotize you,” said Deas about Fury. “It wasn’t just the Wladimir didn’t throw a lot of punches, there was a reason why he didn’t throw a lot of punches.”"

Fury’s physical appearance is deceptive. He’s not musclebound and doesn’t possess an impressive physique, but he’s a massive 6-foot-9 fighter. He moves around the ring well for a man his size. Fury likes to bounce on his toes and counter punch his opponents.

Against Pianeta, Fury stayed active and never looked overly fatigued.

"Deas praised Fury’s boxing abilities: “With Tyson Fury, it’s a combination of the height, size, and athleticism with the boxing ability that causes guys to not pull the trigger like they normally do. He can switch things up and give you so many different looks not just in terms of orthodox and southpaw stances, but in terms of his head movement, his body movement.”Deas added, “He’s [Tyson Fury] quite a Rubix cube to try and solve. That’s the challenge—that you have to break that code and figure out exactly what’s going on there and what are you going to do about it.”"

Wilder’s training camps usually feature numerous sparring partners. It’s hard to find a sparring partner that can mimic Fury, but Deas half-jokingly brought up interest in Hughie Fury, Tyson Fury’s cousin, as a possible sparring partner.

"“I was wondering if Hughie Fury would come,” said Deas. “I don’t know his relationship with Tyson at the moment.”While laughing, Deas continued, “I could put a feeler out to see if Hughie would be onboard with coming over.”"

Deas’ suggestion of bringing Hughie Fury into camp was made mostly in jest, but it would make for a shocking dynamic to this fight. Hughie’s father Peter Fury used to train Tyson Fury who moved on to Ben Davison.

Peter Fury told BoxNation in January that he doesn’t harbor any ill will towards his nephew. In the Fury family, blood tends to be thicker than water. Deas also recognizes that if Hughie did agree to join Wilder for sparring that he could report his experiences back to his older cousin Tyson.

"“The problem would be is he [Hughie Fury] a double agent?” said Deas. “The point is, you’re not going to find anyone that does what Fury does other than his cousin.”"

It’s highly unlikely that Hughie Fury would join Wilder in training camp for reasons already stated, but it would make for a fascinating episode of Showtime’s series All Access. In all honesty, Tyson Fury would probably welcome his cousin joining Wilder in camp.

It would be the ultimate show of bravado if he urged his cousin to help his opponent get into the best condition possible.

Yes, Hughie would divulge insider info to Tyson, but Tyson needs to rely on his own abilities to defeat Wilder. Deas is right—Hughie Fury is the only person in the world that can closely mimic his older cousin in the ring. In a strange way, this move would sort of make sense for all involved.

If anything, it would make for a dramatic subplot in what’s sure to be a volatile build-up to fight night.