Tyson Fury had come to the conclusion that he wanted to hire Ben Davison as his trainer, but he was aware how big of a job he was asking Davison to undertake.
Being the lead trainer for the heavyweight champion of the world is a challenge, even for the greatest trainers.
Being the lead trainer for a former heavyweight champion of the world, who was mulling a comeback after he’d skyrocketed to over 400 pounds and admitted to having mulled suicide, was seen by many as asking the impossible.
Add to those issues the fact that Davison is 25 and had never trained a boxer from the start to a championship just added to the pressure he’d face if Fury went ahead and gave him the gig.
Fury, who became the linear heavyweight champion on Nov. 28, 2015, when he upset the legendary Wladimir Klitschko, challenges Deontay Wilder for the WBC belt on Dec. 1 in a Showtime Pay-Per-View bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Fury was set on Davison, but he wanted to see if Davison had the confidence that would be needed to deal with the unique circumstances of his new job.
One day, as he was sitting outside with Davison, two women walked past. They were, Fury said, beautiful. On the spot, Fury turned to Davison and told him that if he could get the women’s phone numbers, he’d get the job as his trainer.
No problem, Davison said, and off he went.
Of course, not long after, Davison came back with the phone numbers, and he became the lead trainer for the heavyweight champion of the world.
“I’m not a bad-looking guy myself,” Davison said, chuckling.
His hire was surprising, if only because Davison has so little experience. He was the lead trainer for Billy Joe Saunders, the former WBO middleweight champion and a close Fury friend, for a fight in 2016.
Davison doesn’t lack for confidence, and scoffs at the notion that he’s not experienced enough to handle the job.
“There is more to being a good trainer than just being a trainer, if that makes sense,” Davison said. “You have to be a friend, a psychologist and a motivator. You have to have a good technical eye and you need good people skills and managerial skills. You know, there is so much to it that people don’t understand.
“I’m lucky enough to be blessed with these skills, and I’m good in these areas. I’m good at what I do. The turnaround in Tyson’s career, as well as his life, is testament to that.”
Fury, though, is a special case, Davison said. Even when he was well over 400 pounds and in the worst shape imaginable, he was still extremely athletic.
“Even at that weight, he was still a freak of nature,” Davison said.”He was still very fast and fluid and was still light on his feet. It’s hard to believe a guy who is, what, 6 feet 9 and over [400 pounds] could be fast and light on his feet, but he was. He loves this sport. He loves to box, and when he got back into the gym, even as out-of-shape as he was, he was so excited. He was like a child.
“I saw that love he had for the game and it was something to nurture. Of course there was work to be done, physically as well as mentally, but I knew he had the skill set and that he could regain the title.”
Ben Davison tapes the hands of lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury during a work out session in front of media on Oct. 25, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
After two tune-up fights and what Davison called “an absolutely fantastic camp,” Fury is going to surprise those who doubt his ability, Davison said.
Last week, Fury hired the legendary Freddie Roach, who is arguably the greatest trainer in boxing history, to serve as his cutman and, presumably, a soundboard for Davison. But Davison has been the man who has run the camp.
Wilder, for his part, isn’t willing to say Davison is unqualified.
“I’m not going to go that far,” Wilder said. “We like Ben as a person. I don’t know how Ben is as a trainer, but we like him as a person and I don’t know what Ben’s levels are as a trainer. No one knows because we never heard of him before, we never seen him, but that don’t mean nothing. That don’t mean nothing because you can have an unknown guy and come out of nowhere and be the greatest thing alive.”
Davison in some ways is in a tough spot. If Fury loses, fingers are going to point at him. But if Fury wins, the narrative will be about how he rebounded literally from the brink to get back to the top of his sport.
Davison isn’t the grizzled veteran like Roach who has had hundreds of champions and been in the corner for thousands of fights. Davison, though, insists anyone who doesn’t think he’s qualified for the job doesn’t know him.
Roach was a protégé of the late Eddie Futch, who until Roach came along was considered the best trainer ever. Davison didn’t have a high-profile mentor like that, and made his own way.
“It’s been a mix of things,” Davison said of his rise. “I have a talent for this, and that’s one of them. I have to make this point: People tend to associate experience with age, but I’d tell you it’s not the amount of experience that matters, it’s the quality of experience. I’ve been involved with boxing since I was 9. I’ve been in boxing for many years. I’m 25 coming up on 26, so I think you’d call that experience. I’ve spent a lot of time around a lot of top, top trainers. I’ve learned a lot from them, and that has been probably the equivalent of 50, 60 years in the game being around people like that. I’m very privileged and lucky to have that, but I think people have the wrong idea about experience.
“I wouldn’t be at the level I’m at if I weren’t experienced. The turnaround in Tyson’s career is testament to that. I don’t think the average everyday 25-year-old would have been able to do what I’ve done here. Look, when Tyson started this comeback, the public and the media said it was mission impossible for any coach, even the top-level coaches, to do this. And now, here we are. I’ve managed to do it and the results speak for themselves.”
The results that will speak the loudest are the ones that will be announced late on Dec. 1. That’s when Davison’s job can fully be assessed.
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