Ben Davison has played down Tyson Fury’s “tongue-in-cheek” claim that the coach is a “traitor”, after Davison reunited with Anthony Joshua ahead of a fight with the “Gypsy King”.

Davison coached Fury in 2018, when the heavyweight returned to boxing after a two-year hiatus, guiding his fellow Briton to wins over Francesco Pianeta and Sefer Seferi before a draw with Deontay Wilder – in a fight that most fans felt Fury had won.

Fury remained with Davison for victories over Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin, but he split from the coach ahead of a 2020 rematch with Wilder, which Fury won via stoppage – before repeating that result in 2021.

Davison then partnered with Joshua in 2023, leading “AJ” to knockouts of Wallin and Francis Ngannou, but the pair parted ways after a stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois in 2024.

Joshua has fought twice since, stopping YouTuber Jake Paul in December and Kristian Prenga in July, and now he has reunited with Davison ahead of a long-awaited super-fight with Fury.

Fury vs Joshua will take place on 11 December, as the former world heavyweight champions headline at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, and backstage at a press conference to promote that bout, Fury playfully labelled Davison a “traitor”.

“I think it’s tongue in cheek,” Davison told Playbook Boxing, powered by Betway. “I’ll be honest, I don’t think he cares who works with AJ. But I think most importantly, I spent a lot of time with him, and I think deep down he knows what type of person I am.

“I think he would say: ‘I know Ben’s a good guy.’ He’s smart enough to understand that boxing is a business, and hopefully he feels the same way I do, where it doesn’t have an impact. Like I say, he could say whatever it is that he wanted to – call me this, call me that, whatever; it wouldn’t change how things are, because deep down I have the same, where I know he’s a good guy.

“Of course it’s a little bit awkward, [but] I’ve got a lot of love and a lot of respect for Tyson [...] It’s solely business. He can say whatever he wanted to say. He could call me ‘rotten’ if he wanted to.

“I never fell out with any ex-fighters that I’ve worked with, and it’s important to me that stays the same. But at the same time, I’ve got a fantastic relationship and a lot of love for AJ as well.”

As Davison, 33, prepares to coach Joshua against Fury, the trainer has actually played down the significance of his past with the Gypsy King.

Saying there is “not really” a conflict of interest, Davison explained: “I think Tyson’s developed as a fighter. There’s nothing that I would know about him that you couldn’t see by watching one of his fights, in terms of boxing.

“Outside of that, I think that’s something that AJ respects: I never go to AJ and talk to him about Tyson. I think that’s something that he can see; there’s a level of integrity there.”

Davison also refused to address the disappointment from Fury’s father John, who complained about the trainer’s decision to coach AJ against his son.

“I don’t have a response that,” said Davison. “Boxing’s become like a woman’s hairdressers where it’s like: ‘What’s your thoughts on what this person said about what that person said about what that person said.’

“So, I haven’t got a comment on what someone said about something else. I won’t live my life like that.”