SugarHill Steward said he wasn't worried when Tyson Fury was dropped by Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight.
Fury and Wilder put on a heavyweight trilogy for the ages last October, as 'The Gypsy King' won by 11th round stoppage in a fight that had five knockdowns. Wilder put down Fury twice in the fourth round, but the Brit's head trainer Steward said the knockdowns didn't alarm him.
"For me, I wasn't so worried because I was watching it," he told BT Sport. "I watched the way he went down, he didn't just get hit and then boom, he was hit and then you could see him get his feet together, try to grab and miss, so he was aware and alert that much to try and grab hold of Deontay Wilder.
"Then the second knockdown was not such a great punch, kind of a push-punch behind the head. It was okay for me, I was happy with that one, I'd rather that than the first one that he got caught with, so when he went down from that one I was like 'ah, alright, he'll be alright'."
Speaking after his victory, Fury said that he never felt he was on the brink of defeat after being knocked down. "I was thinking 'ok, good shot, but I will get you back in a minute' and I did," Fury said. "I was very conscious, saw the ref go 3, 4. I was always there. He shook me, he put me down. That's boxing and it's life as well."
Fury hinted at retirement after his win against Wilder, but the Brit isn't done with boxing just yet as he defends his WBC title against Dillian Whyte on April 23. Steward doesn't know when his fighter will retire, but thinks nobody will believe him when he does call it quits anyway.
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"Whatever he says at the time, that's what it is," he continued. "As you know, everybody in the world changes their mind so it just depends how much you or anybody else puts thought into what he said. Nobody believes Tyson anyway so what difference does it make?"
Steward admitted they don't have a gameplan for Fury's title defence against Whyte and will aim to make adjustments on the night. The Brit will be looking to score another finish as Steward has implemented his knockout-focused style with Fury ever since they partnered up in 2020.
