Tyson Fury's trainer, Sugar-Hill Steward, has revealed he once lit the 35-year-old's hands on fire as part of a bizarre training regime.
Fury is currently in the spotlight, with the Briton set to go up against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday for the mantle of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
The 35-year-old will be out to show he's still got what it takes to shine at the highest level, having struggled against Francis Ngannou back in October.
Steward, speaking to GQ Magazine, has now opened up on how he coaches Fury.
Tyson Fury once had his hands lit on fire with the boxing star preparing for his huge fight with Oleksandr Usyk
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And the Gypsy King's trainer has now revealed he previously lit Fury's hands on fire as part of an exercise.
"He does, because he's a heavyweight," he said when asked if Fury uses weight in the gym.
"But one of the things I enjoy watching him do is hit the bag, like the old-school fighters. That's really 'weights'.
"You don't see a lot of fighters actually punching the bag.
"They’re hitting it, but they’re not punching it properly and thinking about it like it's their opponent. It’s [about] movement, it’s direct.
There are certain spots you want to hit on your opponent, and you have to have that kind of imagination when you’re on the bag – it’s about having real purpose.
"Alongside that, at one point, I put kerosene on his hands and lit his hands on fire to make his knuckles stronger."
When asked whether that actually happened, he then added: "Yeah.
"The kerosene burned off his hands. You've seen the movie The Terminator, right? You know when the metal bones and stuff come out?
"His hands do that and then they regenerate skin and come back stronger and tougher."
Given Fury is one of the best fighters of his generation, you'd probably expect complex drills for him to go through.
Yet Steward prefers to keep things simple, adding: "I don't create fancy drills because I don't think it replicates what you need to do in the ring.
"The best thing you can do is focus on your footwork and the work in the ring. That ring is your office, that's where you do all your work.
"Basketball players don't practice basketball out in the park on the grass, they practice on the court.
"I’m about repetition. You have to know every square inch and know how to move inside that ring.
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Tyson Fury is trained by SugarHill Steward with the coach set to be in his corner for his fight with Oleksandr Usyk
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"If you’re in the corner and you want to make a 90 degree turn but you turn 100 degrees, it ain’t gonna be the same."
But Fury isn't all work and no play.
Steward says he enjoys to relax by sitting in ice baths, while the Briton also enjoys watching films.
"We do ice baths, we go sit in the sauna. We also like to watch movies," he added.
"At one point Tyson was going through a list of the top 100 movies ever made, so we might watch number one, then watch the number one comedy.
Tyson Fury will need to be at his brilliant best when he faces Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night
REUTERS
"We’ve been watching movies from the '30s, Westerns. Working through the decades.
"We’ve actually just got to the ’80s. Tyson was born in the 80s and you know, looking back, things were simple back then."
