Tyson Fury's trainer, SugarHill Steward, has responded to comments from the boxing star's father suggesting he's in a 'decline'.
The Gypsy King is currently gearing up for his lucrative showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.
The pair had been due to face each other on December 23.
With Fury needing more time to recover from his recent victory over Francis Ngannou, however, they're now poised to face each other on February 17 instead.
Tyson Fury 'decline' theories have been dismissed by SugarHill Steward ahead of Oleksandr Usyk fight
PA
Speaking recently, Fury's father said he'd noticed a bit of a 'decline' in his son.
"For my money, his last three fights, I have seen a bit of decline," he said.
"Not a decline in ability but a decline in strength, power and physical condition.
"I don’t know what they are doing up there, you have to address it. He didn’t look himself out in Saudi.
"He didn’t look right, everything had changed about him, his demeanour, his body.
"I was puzzled. He said he had been training but there is training and there is training."
He added: "For my money he looked fat-thin, he should have been better, a bit heavier with a lot more muscle.
"Tyson is a mammoth fella. He needs to power up in the body department and the only way you do that is a proper course and they take time and we don’t have the time."
Yet Fury's trainer, Steward, has now shut down those suggestions.
Furthermore, he's also compared the Briton to Mike Tyson - insisting criticism of the greats is only natural.
“Everybody has their own opinion," he told Boxing King Media.
"Somebody is always going to have something negative to say.
"Even when Mike Tyson was knocking everybody out he had criticism.
"There is always going to be criticism in life and everything you do.
"Simple as that for me. I don’t think about it too hard.”
And, on how the fight between Fury and Usyk will go, he added: “I like knockouts. It’s always the plan. Simple as that.”
Fury's father isn't the only person to criticise the heavyweight champion in recent times.
Former British boxer Johnny Nelson also hit out at Fury and said his 'legs are gone' when speaking at the start of last month.
Referring to Fury's recent win over Ngannou, he stated: “Francis Ngannou, that was his first professional fight, and if he got the win, you couldn’t complain.
“So, he was either unprofessional, or Tyson Fury is starting to slip, and his legs have gone.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Tyson Fury will be looking to crush Oleksandr Usyk when they step into the ring on February 17
PA
"Tyson Fury, his movement, if you’re saying you trained, then your legs are gone.
"I’m saying something that nobody has actually picked up on."
