Ahead of perhaps the most pivotal fight of his career, Tyson Fury decided it was time for a change—or in this case, a return to the way things once were.

The unbeaten British heavyweight has begun to make the media rounds following the formal announcement of his rematch with undefeated titlist Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41KOs), which takes place February 22 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. News of part two comes shortly after Fury’s big reveal of having split with head trainer Ben Davison, with whom he’s worked for the past two years.

England’s Fury (29-0-1, 20KOs) will now work with SugarHill Steward [nee Javan “Sugar” Hill], nephew of the late, great Emanuel Steward and with whom he briefly trained at the start of the decade. Also in camp for the rematch will be Ireland’s Andy Lee, the former middleweight champ who currently trains several fighters of his own including middleweight Jason Quigley and rookie welterweight Paddy Donovan.

“I just think we’re gonna get back to basics,” Fury explained of the change in cornermen during a recent appearance on ESPN College Gameday to help promote the rematch with Wilder. “Getting the old band back out. I trained with SugarHill Steward back in 2010. We got on like a house on fire.” 

Little has been revealed regarding the split between Fury and Davison since the pre-Christmas reveal, other than both sides claiming it was done on amicable terms.

It came as a surprise to most in the industry, as the 31-year old heavyweight credits the trainer with helping turn around his life. Fury went from being king of the heavyweight division following a 12-round win over Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 to being near-suicidal while battling substance abuse and mental health issues as he ballooned up to nearly 400 pounds during his first two full years outside the ring following his career defining win.

Davison helped get Fury back into physical and fighting shape, leading to his June 2018 ring return. The two went 4-0-1 together, the draw coming in his first fight with Wilder in which Fury survived two dramatic late round knockdowns to somehow finish the fight on his feet.

Their last fight together saw Davison’s calming presence proving timely, as Fury had to contend with a horrific cut suffered in the 3rd round of an eventual points win over previously unbeaten Otto Wallin this past September. A strong second half surge easily secured the victory and with it, a lucrative second shot at officially handing Wilder his first career defeat.

It just won’t come with the team who helped the hulking Brit get to this point.  

“I think I needed a bit of a change because I was getting a little bit stale,” Fury admits of the shakeup in camp. “Repetitive, doing the same things day in and day out for years. I needed a change.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox