The world of boxing is an unforgiving cauldron. To define the individuals who compete within it is to assume an unerring mentality and a thick skin, in and out of the ring.
Tyson Fury has broken stereotypes aplenty with his much publicised lifestyle in recent years. He stunned the world of boxing when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in Düsseldorf back in 2015 with an almost inch-perfect performance. This was followed by a nosedive in his career, when he vacated all four belts he collected against Klitschko, and failed to appear several press conferences and drug tests, as well as foul-mouthed tirades against social groups that stained his public image.
At the end of 2016, he opened up about his depression, and his reliance on cocaine and alcohol to help him get through the days. Adding to this, in an interview with Rolling Stone he was quoted “I hope someone kills me before I kill myself”. Within a week, he had vacated his belts in order to receive treatment. A day after he vacated them, the British Boxing Board of Control revoked his licence to box.
He remained in the public eye through social media while he stayed away from the ring, with his weight caching the eye; in particular, one picture from March 2017, where an out-of-shape Fury posed with Ian Napa and Jason Matthews. He made no secret that he had rocketed to 25 stone but vowed to shed it as positivity etched back into his mannerisms once more.
His openness and honesty about the brutality of what he had faced set an example. It seemed to offer encouragement that in a sport where fighters should look to be indestructible, he was one who stood up and said “This is what I am facing.”
In a period of time when society is more encouraging than ever to mental health problems in men, Tyson Fury is one who set aside the bravado and the masculinity that had exemplified how he carried himself in and out of the ring. His open interview with Rolling Stone was followed by several features on how he battled his demons, and then how he learned to defeat them.
His turnaround was ignited when he was confirmed to fight WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. The announcement came in September, with Fury then making no secret of his drive to upstage the American, who had held his belt since 2015. Videos were launched on Instagram; he tweeted prodigiously about how he would school Wilder, and knock him out. No longer were there tweets of controversy, or bizarreness. He emphasised a loved for his family and his faith, such behaviour typical of what the public had seen of Tyson Fury as a boxer.
He then received his licence back from the B.B.B.C in January 2018, having been suspended for allegedly failing a drugs test. All systems were go!
Then finally, he weighed in at 18st 4lbs on the eve of his fight with Wilder in prime shape and oozing positivity. He was ready to return.
You can love him or you can hate him. But Tyson Fury has ducked under the stigma surrounding men’s mental health, and stated it was his hardest ever fight. Not only that, he has become a voice of strength and positivity. That may be his biggest victory of all.
Neptune Sports Writing 