Peter Fury: “We’re training for Dereck Chisora like it’s Tyson Fury’s world title fight!”

I recently had a chance to speak with trainer, Peter Fury. Peter is known for being the head trainer of Tyson and Hughie Fury as well as Eddie Chambers, and in the past years he has risen through the ranks to become one of the more respected trainers in the UK. A variety of topics were discussed in this interview, including the upcoming Tyson Fury-Dereck Chisora rematch, Chisora’s match with Kevin Johnson, and the heavyweight clash between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola. Here is what Peter Fury had to say in part 1 of his interview.

Robert Brown: The long awaited rematch between Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora is happening soon. What are your thoughts on the rematch and what are you hoping to achieve this time?

Peter Fury: Well I think the rematch is a very good fight. I think Dereck Chisora needs quite a lot of praise because he’s a guy that fights everybody, he never says no to a fight. He stepped up to the plate, they asked for this fight, they wanted this fight and we happily obliged.

It’s going to be a good fight because in the first fight there were talks about Dereck not being ready, there were a lot of excuses being made after the loss. They’re saying Dereck’s a different fighter now. It’s going to be a good rematch, Dereck is a different fighter, he’s come a long way since then, but also so has Tyson. We’re looking forward to this fight and it’s going to be good while it lasts.

Robert Brown: Tyson is the undefeated fighter, are you surprised Chisora is going in as the favorite despite Tyson having a win over him?

Peter Fury: Well you know, I’m delighted that that is the case. We always like to prove people wrong, and proven they will be because Tyson ‘s on another level. Dereck Chisora is a good gateway keeper on the world scene — he’s a domestic fighter at best. Take nothing away from Dereck, he’s a good fighter, he’s just not on a world level, he’s pretty one dimensional.

It’s gonna be an interesting fight, it certainly is a good fight and we only see one winner. Nevertheless, we’re training for the fight like it’s Tyson’s world title fight, so there’s going to be no stone unturned, there will be no excuses. We’re going into this fight fully prepared and we predict one outcome, and that is Tyson Fury by knockout.

Robert Brown: Is there added motivation for Tyson to dispose of Chisora once and for all?

Peter Fury: He’s(Chisora) tried on a world level and failed outright miserably four times. It’s not like saying he’s put up a good fight against Vitali Klitschko, how many rounds did he win in that? Look, you got a boxing lesson. This is what I’m saying, Dereck’s a good fighter, he’s a good fighter for anyone and he’s a threat, but that’s not to say he’s gonna be a world champion or right up there in the top 5, I don’t see that.

There’s nothing to prove with us. Tyson’s gonna do his job on Chisora, it’s just another fight for him — he’s got nothing personal with Chisora like I said, he’s got a good trainer in Don Charles, we respect him, it’s just what it is.

You’ll see Tyson on another level and no one’s seen the best of Tyson yet, he hasn’t even begun to show people exactly what he’s about. Tyson has got another 5 years he can go up. We’ve seen the best of Dereck Chisora, we’ve certainly not seen the best of Tyson.

Robert Brown: How would you assess Chisora’s performance against Kevin Johnson compared to Tyson’s?

Peter Fury: Dereck beat Kevin Johnson but Kevin Johnson was in the fight, he was hitting Dereck. Tyson did a better job on Kevin Johnson, for the simple reason that he totally out boxed him, whereas Kevin gave Dereck a decent fight.

On the other hand, Dereck got Kevin down and Kevin Johnson doesn’t go down, so that was a spectacular thing for him to put him down. They say it’s at the back of the head and all that, but I don’t count that. Dereck put Kevin Johnson down, so fair play to him for that.

I would say they dealt with Kevin Johnson in similar fashion. That’s the only way you can deal with him because he’s a very tough, durable guy, he always goes the route, he doesn’t get stopped. They both beat him fairly comfortably in my opinion.

Robert Brown: Tyson Fury’s most recent performance was against Joey Abell, and although he won the fight fairly easily, he got hit with some solid right hands. Are you concerned what might happen if he gets hit with solid punches like that against Chisora?

Peter Fury: Well, Joey Abell is a journeyman and he had a big punch albeit. We sent Tyson out there to be on his game, to be careful of Joey Abell in the first couple of rounds — just to work behind the jab. He worked behind the jab and it was easy for him. We could see that Joey Abell, he looked like the fight had gone out of him by that stage.

In the middle of the rounds — I think after round 2 — Tyson said, “This is pretty boring, can I do my thing and just play with this guy and impress the crowd and make a bit of a show of it?” I said, “Yeah go and do your thing.” He just came out and played with Joey Abell really and didn’t worry about defense and boxing, he jut entertained the crowd. That’s what more or less happened — yeah he was square on, yeah Joey Abell landed a right hand. Like I said, there was no serious threat there, it was just an entertaining fight for the crowd.

You could see Tyson walking back to the corner doing a funny walk, he’s an entertainer. So Joey Abell was treated like that, but if anybody is going off the Abell fight, and they think that’s the Tyson that’s gonna turn up on the 26th of July, they’re absolutely dreaming and don’t know boxing. Tyson on the 26th of July is gonna come out a serious athlete, not taking any chances.

Robert Brown: What were your thoughts on the Chris Arreola vs. Bermane Stiverne fight?

Peter Fury: I did see it. Arreola is a decent fighter, but I always said — even before this fight — that it was a repeat, because he’s tailor made for Stiverne. You come in and you want to swap punches with Stiverne and bring a fight to the guy, he’s a big strong guy. The way he’s built, the way he boxes, he’s one of these guys where you come up on to him, Stiverne’s dangerous. It was a one way win for Stiverne. No surprises there at all.

Robert Brown: If Stiverne fights Deontay Wilder, who would you be backing in that fight?

Peter Fury: Well Wilder’s got all the tools hasn’t he? It’s Wilder’s fight to lose, but Wilder’s not been hit back. He’s 31-0, 31 KO’s, without being punched in the face. We have to look at this and see it in a real light. I like Wilder, he’s got some good, fast hands, he’s got power, he can box; but how many people have we seen like this? Seth Mitchell, our own David Price, the list goes on about these undefeated fighters that have not been hit back yet. When we see them get hit, nine times out of ten they fold up.

There’s one thing for sure, it’s a good step up. If Wilder can catch Stiverne, he’ll get him out of there. If he can’t, we’re going to see what Wilder’s all about, because Stiverne is a worthy champion — he’s not a fake, he’s not a dud, he belongs where he is, he’s a good fighter. Hopefully we’re going to see exactly what Wilder’s about, but it could be an easy night again because Wilder’s got shocking power, and if he hits any heavyweight, he’ll put them over.