Tyson Fury to manage unbeaten Russian heavyweight Aleksei Dronov, his former sparring partner
Dronov, 24, won super-heavyweight gold at the 2018 Youth Olympics and is trained by Fury's coach SugarHill Steward.
Tyson Fury is already planning for life after boxing less than two months before he fights Anthony Joshua, signing 24-year-old Russian heavyweight Aleksei Dronov to a management deal and backing him to become world champion.
Fury announced it in a video on the Furocity TikTok channel. "Tyson Fury here and I have got the biggest news ever. I have just signed the next heavyweight champion of the world, Aleksei Dronov," he said. "I will be managing him to the top, it's the future heavyweight champion of the world, you heard it here first. Remember that name, Aleksei Dronov, git up!"
Dronov was a sparring partner during Fury's preparations for Oleksandr Usyk, and he is trained by SugarHill Steward, Fury's long-time coach.
Dronov, a southpaw, won super-heavyweight gold at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, as well as at the World and European Youth Championships that year. He is unbeaten as a professional but has yet to box outside the United States. Fury did not name an opponent or date for Dronov's next fight.
Fury, 38, has said 2026 will be his final year in the sport and indicated that Joshua will be his last opponent, though he has also called for a third fight with Usyk if the Ukrainian carries on.
He faces Joshua at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday 11 December, live on Netflix, and has brought in Joe Joyce as a sparring partner. The stadium is all but sold out, and the ring walks are planned for around 1am UK time on Saturday 12 December.
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