Boxing trainer and former fighter, Peter Fury is one of the most respected cornermen in the sport. Fury reached the pinnacle of boxing when he took his nephew Tyson Fury to a decision win over the undisputed heavyweight champion at the time, Wladimir Klitschko. He has also nearly taken his son Hughie Fury to a world title belt when he lost a close match to WBO heavyweight belt holder Joseph Parker.

In part 1 of my interview with Peter Fury, I discuss with him the future of his son Hughie and get his thoughts on the heavyweight division. Peter speaks in detail on Hughie Fury’s defeat to Joseph Parker and talks about the plans to put him back into title contention. Fury also talks about Deontay Wilder’s thrilling knockout win against Luis Ortiz and gives his prediction for Joshua vs. Parker. Here is what Peter Fury had to say.

Robert Brown: I’d like to talk about the fight between Hughie Fury and Joseph Parker. What were your thoughts on the fight?

Peter Fury: It was clearly political, there was a lot going on around us at the time with governing bodies and stuff. It’s no wonder they gave the score like the did. It’s just one of those things you can’t control what goes on outside of the ring with officials and governing bodies.

There’s not a lot we can say about it, but we thought Hughie won the fight clearly by unanimous decision, we didn’t even have it close, but that’s life. Hughie’s only turned twenty three years of age and it just shows you the quality he possesses, and he’s done a lot to improve on as well. He will be looking to take on all the boxers when he comes out again.

Robert Brown: How do you rate Sam Sexton as a fighter? What are some of his strengths that you’re going to have to watch out for?

Peter Fury: He’s powerful, he’s got some good strengths to him. Sam’s a good domestic fighter, he’s a good worthy British champion.

Robert Brown: In this fight, are you expecting a decision win for Hughie or do you think Hughie can get the knockout?

Peter Fury: Anything can happen in heavyweight boxing but for us it’s just about getting Hughie back in the mix and we’re looking to put him straight back in again in July.

Robert Brown: You want to get him back to a world title fight as soon as possible?

Peter Fury: Correct, we are looking to get him back into position by the end of the year. He’s on fast track straight to that world title, what should have been his in the first place.

Robert Brown: What did you think of the Wilder-Ortiz fight? Does that performance change your opinion on what may happen in a Wilder-Joshua fight?

Peter Fury: No, not really. I thought Wilder did very well. He was up against a very awkward Cuban with a southpaw style, good jab, good movement. Ortiz kept Deontay off balance, made him think a lot. It was a fight where Wilder had to really think about it.

When you step to the world level, you just can’t hit people the way you think you think you can, but he found a way. He had a sticky seventh round, though I didn’t see Wilder being terribly hurt but more fatigued and tired. Wilder weathered the storm well and he came back and got the job done. He ticked all the boxes again and it was a good win for him.

It was a good win against a very awkward opponent who nobody wanted. This is the thing, people can always pick faults out of fights after they happened, but lets look, nobody wanted Ortiz did they? It was a stiff test for him, but he took the fight and came through it.

Robert Brown: It seems like everybody is jumping the gun a bit in talking about the Wilder-Joshua fight without giving Joseph Parker much of a chance. Do you give Parker a chance in that fight?

Peter Fury: I give Joseph every chance, I think he’s a very serious contender. He’s not a contender, he’s a world champion and rightly so. I take nothing away from Joseph, he’s a serious heavyweight and I think he’s going to pull some flaws out in Joshua. I think Joshua is in for a tough night with him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Parker pulled it off.

It’s one of these fights that I see a lot more even than a lot of people think. I think this is a good fight on paper and I think Joshua is having to step up now and fight people who can really fight. We’re going to see the best of Joshua as well, so it’s a good fight and the winner is not a foregone conclusion.

Obviously, everybody wants Joshua to win on a political stature because he’s the one where the money is. He’s the one where everybody is interested in. Parker’s going to have to win very convincingly to take the belt if it goes on points. I don’t see him winning the fight on points, I think he needs to take Joshua out. Like I said, I think it’s entirely possible, because one thing we know is that Joshua is vulnerable, the same as all big punchers. All big punchers are vulnerable.