Davison explains aim to 'blow every coach in history out of the water'
Ben Davison opens up on why Tyson Fury’s comeback is one of his proudest achievements – and insists the critics aren’t getting to him amid a six-year unbeaten run, plus his goal to ‘blow every coach there’s ever been out of the water’
- Tyson Fury’s ex-coach Ben Davison recently sat down for a chat with Sportsmail
- Davison has huge plans to cement a legacy as the greatest boxing coach ever
- The 29-year-old has been criticised for his lack of experience in recent years
- But having avoided defeat as a trainer since 2016 he insists it doesn’t faze him
- Davison also says he wouldn’t change anything about his time working with Fury
- Sportsmail then spoke with his two new charges Chris Kongo and Jeamie TKV
It is just approaching 1pm when Ben Davison wraps up a gruelling pads session with the undisputed super-lightweight champion of the world, takes a seat in the bulky leather chair at his ringside desk and reflects on a recent personal accolade.
Davison, tasked with stewarding the career of 140lbs king Josh Taylor amongst many others, was last month named on the shortlist for Ring Magazine’s prestigious Trainer of the Year award, a prize swept up in the end by Canelo Alvarez’s A-list coach Eddy Reynoso.
‘It’s the second time I’ve been nominated for it, but I ain’t won it yet,’ he laughs. ‘Second place doesn’t get you f**k all does it!
‘If it wasn’t for Canelo…’
Tyson Fury’s former trainer Ben Davison recently sat down for an interview with Sportsmail
Coming off second best to Reynoso is certainly no indignity. The Mexican trainer would have taken some beating last year after masterminding Canelo’s undisputed heroics at super-middleweight, Oscar Valdez’s emphatic victory against Miguel Berchelt and Ryan Garcia’s knockout win over Luke Campbell.
Though Davison also enjoyed quite the year himself; helping Taylor complete the set at super-lightweight, overseeing Lee McGregor’s European bantamweight title success and guiding Leigh Wood to the WBA featherweight title with a remarkable knockout of Can Xu.
And perhaps more incredibly, the 29-year-old has now gone almost six years without defeat as a lead trainer.
Davison enjoyed a terrific 2021 which peaked when Josh Taylor became undisputed champion
The 29-year-old was nominated for Ring Magazine’s prestigious Trainer of the Year award
He was a runner up in the end, with Canelo Alvarez’s A-list coach Eddy Reynoso claiming it
He burst onto the scene four years ago as the jovial youngster aiding former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on his unlikely comeback from the pits of depression and substance abuse to a world-title showdown with Deontay Wilder. Now Davison is a respected coach in his own right, attracting both star names and talented prospects to his ever-growing stable.
Yet, a trainer boasting one of the sport’s two current undisputed champions, and who proved a key component in Fury’s famous return, often finds himself ridiculed by large sections of the British boxing public over his lack of long-term experience. Some cruelly brand Davison, whose first big break came five years ago in the corner of two-weight champion Billy Joe Saunders, no more than a fitness guru, ‘Boxercise Ben’ the popular taunt.
When asked if the criticism bothers him, he replies: ‘Not really. To be honest with you it actually entertains me.
‘I put stuff out there on purpose because I know it annoys people. So I actually quite enjoy playing up to it.
Davison has come along way since he burst onto the scene as a youngster helping Tyson Fury
But despite his success he remains an easy target for naysayers on social media platforms
‘But it doesn’t bother me because my boys win, it’s as simple as that. If they were losing it would bother me. My guys win.
‘And I’ve not got many lads that have been boxing journeymen. Most of them have been title fights. So the criticism and that, it doesn’t really bother me. You’re always gonna get it no matter what.
‘Roy Jones used to say they even criticised Jesus, so you’ve got no hope!’
Davison often struggles to resist firing back to wind up his detractors on social media. But why is he targeted so frequently?
‘Because I call out the bulls***,’ he insists. ‘There are a lot of s*** trainers out there, that’s a matter of fact.
The new coach on the block believes he is targeted because he ‘calls out the bulls***’
‘I just haven’t got it in me to be like, ‘Oh yeah he did really well, he’s a good coach’ if deep down I think they’re s***.
‘It’s probably not politically correct. I put things out there that p****s people off on purpose.
‘And the more success you have the more people want you to lose. Floyd Mayweather, everyone always wanted him to lose.
‘Listen, at some point I’m probably gonna have a fighter lose and they’re all gonna come piling in. In reality, obviously it’s gonna bother me that my fighter’s lost, but I don’t care what people have got to say because the results and what we’re doing for fighters is what matters.’
Despite helping his son complete a life-saving transformation, and produce a performance against Wilder which should have resulted in a second world-title triumph, Davison’s stock took a hit when John Fury, Tyson’s outspoken father, took aim at the young coach after their challenging win over Otto Wallin in 2019.
Davison’s stock took a hit when Fury laboured to victory against Otto Wallin back in 2019
Fury’s father John hit out at the young coach and urged his son to change his training team
Fury, who suffered a gruesome cut early on in the fight, laboured to victory over 12 rounds and looked a shadow of the fighter who had bamboozled Wilder almost a year earlier. And when his dad blamed Davison for that sluggish display, the pair parted company.
‘You can’t expect a boy to do a man’s job. He did a great job, but he was only a companion for Tyson,’ Fury Sr later said on BT Sport. ‘When it comes to technique and knowledge I’ve seen a lot of flaws in his work.’
While a more explosive Fury did go on to batter Wilder from pillar to post in the next two instalments of their classic trilogy, Davison still deserves credit aplenty for dragging him back from 400lbs to the brink of heavyweight glory once more. Many told him it couldn’t be done.
‘Every fighter that we’ve worked with has improved,’ he continues. ‘No one thought Tyson was gonna be able to make a comeback. Then all of a sudden it was that he was expected to do that. That’s how good of a job we done, cos [sic] at the time people thought it couldn’t be done.
But Davison says he was given ‘no chance’ in bringing Fury back from the pits of depression
‘I know coaches who were laughing at him and thinking “no chance”. Eddie Hearn went on a podcast and said, “I genuinely looked at him and thought no chance”. Even his own dad thought he was gonna get blown away in three rounds against Wilder.
‘I think things like (the comeback) will be appreciated more in time to come. Because he’s still boxing currently now I think people forget, but when he retires one day and they look back I think it’ll probably be more appreciated.’
Two years on from his split with Fury, Davison now finds himself a more experienced, educated and assured coach. He is still nine months out from his 30th birthday, notably young in comparison with the majority of his colleagues, and can further maximise his talents in the coming years. ‘If you don’t (improve) you’re doing something wrong,’ he admits.
So looking back on his time with Fury, would a wiser Davison do anything differently if he could rewind the clock?
The pair should have had the cherry on the cake when he was denied victory vs Deontay Wilder
Davison says he wouldn’t change a thing about his time working with the Gypsy King
He ponders the question for a few seconds before replying: ‘It’s hard to say. I don’t think I would have.
‘Do you know what it is, most people think because he’s a young trainer, he’s a yes man. But the thing is, I’m the complete opposite. The older guys, they haven’t got that much longer left in the sport and they need to take what they can money wise so they just go along with the bulls***. But I’m not gonna do it.
‘That’s why sometimes fighters come and sometimes they go. Yeah, of course I could be a yes man and say “yeah no problem, yep I’ll take my money, see you in a bit.” But I’m not about that.
‘Some people get it backwards because they think the older, more experienced guys aren’t going to take any s***. No, they’re the ones that need the money. I don’t need the money. I’m young. I’m not in a rush.’
The lofty standards Davison sets and demands from his stable are certainly reciprocated. No matter their problems outside of the gym, his fighters must simply leave them at the door and maintain focus on the job at hand. It is a harsh, unsentimental regime but one that is taken on by the boss himself.
Fury’s ex-coach demands a lot from his current crop of fighters at his Essex gym
He insists they must leave their problems at the door and maintain 100 per cent commitment
While out in the States with WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney, whose training team he has been a part of over the past year, Davison received a devastating personal blow when he was informed that his pregnant wife had suffered a miscarriage. Though instead of flying home to console her, he refused to abandon Haney ahead of his upcoming contest.
‘All we want is to be able to have a baby. We got married, she was pregnant, then had a miscarriage – she was in absolute bits. But I didn’t come home. I stayed out there because I had a job to do,’ he reveals.
‘It probably makes me a worse husband than what I possibly could be, but that’s partly what makes me the trainer that I am and the coach that I am, because of the sacrifice, dedication, commitment.
‘At the end of the day, the reality is that the boys put their lives on the line when they go in there. So they make sacrifices, we’ve got to make sacrifices and you’ve got to lead by example.
‘I don’t go and put s*** like that out there, because I don’t need to. I don’t need people to feel sorry for me. But that is how it is.’
Davison’s unwavering dedication to the sport will increase his experience, hone his intelligence and, ultimately, round him into a more complete boxing coach later down the line. He has already come on leaps and bounds in the two years since Fury called time on their working relationship. In the next two, if the passion remains, he is only likely to strengthen his skillset.
And over an even longer period of time, the new kid on the block is hoping those small improvements eventually culminate into legendary status.
Davison has a lofty ambition to seal a legacy as the greatest coach to ever grace boxing
At the end of our chat, a buoyant Davison concludes: ‘My goal is to blow every coach there’s ever been out of the water, where it’s not even open for discussion who the best coach there’s ever been is. That is the goal.
‘If that’s not your goal in any field that you work in, if your goal is not to be the best – not the best now but the best ever – then what are you doing it for?
‘My goal is to blow every other coach out of the water so that it’s not even open for interpretation who the best coach is. That’s how it’s got to be.’
Ben’s new charges
Over the past year, Davison has extended his stable by adding some fresh faces to the mix. Along with Taylor, McGregor, Wood and super-bantamweight prospect Shabaz Masoud, he is now navigating the careers of Olympic twins Pat and Luke McCormack, 26, and 22-year-old novice Mark Dickinson.
But the list doesn’t stop there, as Davison has also joined forces with welterweight hopeful Chris Kongo, 29, and former amateur standout Jeamie TKV, 28, who have both signed deals with Sky Sports-backed promotional company BOXXER. Sportsmail sat down with the two men to discuss their recent link-up with the in-demand coach.
Davison has recently added Chris Kongo and Jeamie TKV to his ever-growing stable
Kongo, who has 12 wins and one loss to show for 13 professional contests, has teamed up with Davison on the back of his maiden defeat against Portsmouth’s Michael McKinson in March of last year.
The Bermondsey man was beaten on points by McKinson in a messy 12-rounder out in Gibraltar, which he admits was a bitter pill to swallow.
‘It was hard because I don’t like losing regardless,’ he says. ‘I hate losing. I’m a winner, that’s what I do. So it was very hard for me and nothing will ever soften the blow of your first loss as a pro.
‘But you’ve just got to move on now and bounce back. That’s what it’s all about.
‘There’s less pressure on me now. There’s more pressure on the undefeated fighters that I’ll want to face in the future. There’ll be more pressure on them.
Kongo is still reeling from the first defeat of his professional career against Michael McKinson
‘For me, that 0 is gone now. There’s nothing I can do about it and it’s just life. We’ve just got to move on.’
Having parted company with previous coach Jim McDonnell to join Davison’s stable, Kongo has embarked on a fresh start after the McKinson defeat and is already reaping the rewards from it.
He adds: ‘It’s been great (working with Ben). I’ve been learning a lot and just working behind the scenes as usual, picking up a lot of things, tweaking a lot of things and just improving every day in the gym.
‘In boxing it’s all about what you do, when to do it and the right timing. So that’s what it’s about and I’m definitely learning a lot.’
The Bermondsey man is now embarking on a new chapter with Davison in his corner
Before his 0 was breached, Kongo had aspirations of becoming a world champion at 147lbs – and that goal remains despite the recent setback.
‘It will never go away until my career’s done,’ he insists. ‘That’s what I’m chasing and that’s what I know I’m gonna get, because I’m very persistent in this game and I know I’m gonna go all the way.’
Unlike Kongo, Jeamie TKV has turned to Davison at the very start of his professional journey. The Tottenham-based heavyweight enjoyed a successful amateur career, winning the English and Southern Area titles, and is now venturing into the big leagues.
He says: ‘I feel like I’ve done everything from domestic level to international level, and with the valuable experience that I’ve gained in amateur boxing, I feel like there’s no better time than now to turn professional. I know that there’s no better time than now. It was time.
‘I’m excited. It’s been an exciting few years for heavyweight boxing and I’m just geed up and ready to get into the mix. I’m ready to make my mark in that sense.’
Jeamie TKV is the standout amateur hoping to make his mark on the pro heavyweight scene
Jeamie, who also has a strong wrestling background with his father a former professional in Africa, is delighted to be working alongside a coach as talented as Davison.
‘I know I’m in good hands because I’ve seen what they’ve done with other fighters,’ he continued.
‘I’m just happy to be around people that are very knowledgeable about the sport and really study the sport. There’s no better people than these two people here: Ben Davison and (assistant) Barry Smith. There’s no one better, they know the sport and they study the sport.
‘They take that knowledge and put it into us, and we learn a lot from that. So I’m happy to be around them and learning from them.’
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