Tyson Fury is known for his confidence and bravado, but even the heavyweight champion of the world can struggle with mental health.
In April earlier this year, after Fury knocked out Dillian Whyte in front of 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, he retired from the sport with an unbeaten record of 32-0-1.
‘The Gypsy King’ could not stay away, however, as he recently made a return to the sport by calling out Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, although it now looks as though neither of those fights will be happening until next year at the earliest.
Instead, according to the Daily Telegraph, Derek Chisora is frontrunner to fight Fury next in a trilogy bout, with the pair having met twice before – first in 2011 when ‘The Gypsy King’ won by unanimous decision and, then following up with a stoppage victory in 2014.
Throughout his retirement, there was endless speculation as to whether Fury would make a comeback, as he was still regularly posting training videos.
Fury has now revealed that this was a way of maintaining his mental health, but he has realised that he also needs professional boxing to stay sane and is concerned about whether he will ever be able to leave the sport behind.
“I can’t walk away and maybe there’s somebody out there like a doctor or psychologist or somebody who could really help me, because I think I’m going to need mental help to let go of this thing,” Fury told Behind The Gloves.
“If you asked me today, ‘What are you boxing for?’ I don’t have any goals or ambition to box.
“I’m boxing because I feel like I need boxing within me, to keep my sanity. I’m fighting for survival everyday.
“Without this professional boxing, I don’t know if I can survive. I was off for four months and I trained twice a day, seven days a week in the boxing gym.
“I was in camp with Joseph Parker, I was in camp with Tommy [Fury], I never stopped, but I can’t stop training, so I almost feel sorry for ‘The Gypsy King’.
“Because, although I wanted him to become obsolete, I couldn’t get away from him because he’s a lonely, horrible, sad person without the fight game. I created a monster and I’m to blame.
“I’m a man who really wants to get out of boxing, I don’t want to be in boxing, however, I can’t let it go, so I just keep going.
“I train everyday, mostly twice a day, for my mental health and wellbeing, but I’m in a boxing environment.
“So, if I’m training everyday and I’m fit as a fiddle doing castle runs, I’m never going to be able to let this fight game go, because I’m always fit, I’m always sharp, I’m always ready, I’m sparring, I’m hitting the bag, I’m doing padwork, but that’s a form of fitness.
“It scares me to think, how long will I have to keep going on and doing this?
“And will there ever be a point where I can just not go in a boxing gym to keep fit? Just doing a run and some weights, will that ever be enough?”
News Summary:
- ‘I don’t know how I’ll survive’
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