Tyson Fury insists that the bond of the Fury family is absolute – too thick to be pierced by the sharpest of differences. The former heavyweight champion was forced to step forward and set the record straight after reports began circulating that his uncle Peter Fury would train arch-rival Anthony Joshua as they prepare for their showdown scheduled for December 11 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

“I can’t believe I’ve had to come on here and do this video after all this talk of Peter Fury training Anthony Joshua or giving him advice on how to beat me,” Fury said in a video shared on Instagram. “I can categorically say that’s untrue because even if Peter Fury hated me, he’s still family.

“And that would mean he would be a Fredo, scorpion, snake, rat, b***, piece of sh*t if he did that. I can categorically say today, without speaking to anybody, that’s untrue because I’ve known Peter Fury my whole life, and I know him to be none of those things that I’ve just said. He’s none of the above.

“Let’s just leave it at that, shall we? And I don’t want to hear this bulls*** anymore, ever.”

Fury’s comments point to a difficult phase in his life and career, which included his separation from Peter Fury. After defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, Tyson experienced depression, declining motivation, and prolonged inactivity, which disrupted his boxing career.

As a result, disputes over training discipline and preparation allegedly led to a split with Peter Fury, who went on to train other fighters, including his son, former world title challenger and British Heavyweight title holder, Hughie.

Fury’s comments come as Joshua provided an update on his training. Speaking with media, the Olympic gold medalist revealed that Ben Davison will train him for the December fight. However, he is also in contact with Peter Fury.

“I speak to Peter Fury. He’s willing to help me as well (as Davison),” AJ said. When pressed on whether the conversation with Peter centered on the upcoming showdown, Joshua insisted that wasn’t the case. It had more to do with his “training and approach.’

“It’s not ‘Oh, Fury does this.’ It was more like, ‘I’ve seen what you do, and this is where he thinks he can improve…'” Joshua added. His comments align with Peter Fury’s social media post.

“Me & AJ spoke 2 months ago about advice on his skill set; he’s a really nice guy.” After” his fight ‘any thing he needs from me be a pleasure. He has a great team around him, “Inc Team Usyk.” My focus now is Rico; we start camp very soon. 🔥🔥🙏♥️,” the veteran trainer wrote.

Crossing over from kickboxing, Rico Verhoeven shook up the boxing world this past May. Before Oleksandr Usyk stopped him in the 11th round, Verhoeven had put the much-regarded Ukrainian on the back foot. Though he does not have a fight scheduled, he and Peter Fury anticipate a comeback before the year ends.

If that is the case, then Fury’s conversation with AJ should be construed as merely consultational rather than part of a full-time training arrangement.

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua: keep the family close, keep the corners separate

Joshua himself clarified that his going back to Ben Davison and Peter Fury has little to do with their shared history of working with Tyson. He preferred Davison because the trainer has a hands-down approach where he “pinpoints things.”

Joshua and Davison had worked through three fights—December 2023 against Otto Wallin, March 2024 against Francis Ngannou, and finally September 2024 against Daniel Dubois. The two parted ways after Joshua’s knockout loss to Dubois.

Since then, he mostly worked with Usyk’s team, including trainer Iegor Golub at the training base in Spain. The partnership saw him through the two fights against Jake Paul and more recently against Kristian Prenga.

While Joshua insisted that he appointed Davison as his primary trainer and is seeking critical inputs from Peter Fury to fine-tune his training, the move could still be viewed as an attempt to gain an advantage over Tyson when they meet in December.

Having a Fury family member as a consultant could also create an additional storyline given the history between the families. A similar situation, where a family member was involved with an opposing camp ahead of a fight, has occurred before.

The most notable example took place in 2007. Ahead of his fight against Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya made an attempt to retain Mayweather Sr. as his trainer.

However, the negotiations collapsed over payment. De La Hoya reportedly proposed $500,000 upfront, with an additional $500,000 contingent on victory. But, citing the magnitude of the event and the challenge of training against his own son, Mayweather Sr. insisted on $2 million.

De La Hoya eventually hired Freddie Roach for $1.3 million and subsequently lost the bout by a split decision.

Taken together, Peter Fury’s schedule and Joshua’s regrouping with Davison suggest that Tyson’s uncle is unlikely to entertain an arrangement that would put him in the opposite corner from his own nephew.