Tyson Fury

Background

Tyson Luke Fury was born and raised in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. He was born into a family of Irish Traveller heritage. His paternal grandfather was from Tuam, County Galway, which is also the birthplace of his father, John Fury. The Furys of Galway are ultimately of Gaelic origin, deriving their present name from Ó Fiodhabhra. His maternal grandmother is from County Tipperary and his mother was born in Belfast. His family has a long history in boxing; his father competed in the 1980s as "Gypsy" John Fury, initially as a bare-knuckle fighter and unlicensed boxer, and then as a professional boxer.

He is a cousin of Irish former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee, former British light heavyweight champion Hosea Burton and heavyweight Hughie Fury. He is also a distant relative of "self-styled King of the Gypsies" Bartley Gorman, hence Fury's own self-styled nickname, 'Gypsy King'. He has also styled himself as 'The Furious One' and Tyson '2 Fast' Fury. His father named him Tyson after then-world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Despite strongly identifying with his Irish heritage, Fury has had problems in gaining dual citizenship, because in the 1960s, his father's birth in County Galway was not recorded civilly, as Irish Travellers at the time only recorded births through baptism with the Church, rather than officially with the state.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Fury represented both Ireland and England. Fury represented Ireland three times at international level. He initially fought out of the Holy Family Boxing Club in Belfast, Northern Ireland and later switched to the Smithboro Club in County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. In a double international duel against an experienced Polish team in 2007, the Irish team lost 12–6 overall; Fury, however, was victorious in both his fights in Rzeszów and Białystok. In another Irish match against the US, Fury won his bout by knock-out.

He was forced to withdraw from the Irish national championships after officials from the Holy Trinity Boxing Club in West Belfast, the club of the then Irish amateur heavyweight champion, submitted a protest regarding his eligibility. He won a bronze medal at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in 2006.

In England, whilst representing Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy, he participated in the senior national championships in 2006 but was beaten by David Price 22–8.

In May 2007, he won the EU Junior Championship representing England, and later lost to Maxim Babanin in the final of the European Junior Championships. As a junior, he was ranked number three in the World behind the Russians Maxim Babanin and Andrey Volkov, but lost out to David Price for a place at the Olympic Games in Beijing representing the United Kingdom.

Price was chosen for the 2008 Olympic team ahead of Fury due to Olympic rules restricting each country to one boxer per weight division. Fury also unsuccessfully tried to qualify for Ireland, and attributed his failure to qualify for the Olympics as his reason for turning professional, instead of waiting for a chance that might not have come in 2012.

In the absence of Price (who won Olympic Bronze in Beijing) he became national champion (ABA) in 2008.

Fury had an amateur record of 31 wins (26 by KO) and 4 losses.

Early career

Fury made his professional debut at the age of 20 on 6 December 2008 in Nottingham, on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. Jean Pascal and live on free to air ITV4 in the U.K against Hungarian fighter Bela Gyongyosi, who Fury defeated via TKO in the first round with a combination to head and body. Then until July 2009 he went on to have six more fights in the space of seven months, defeating Marcel Zeller, Daniil Peratyakto, Lee Swaby, Matthew Ellis, Scott Belshaw and Aleksandrs Selezens all via knockout within 4 rounds.

On 11 September 2009, Fury fought John McDermott for the English heavyweight title, and won via a controversial points decision given by the referee after the full 10 rounds. Despite actually being a fairly close fight it seemed that the majority of people had scored the fight to McDermott, some comfortably. Fury later said although he was disappointed with his performance he was not unfit for the fight, but had instead over trained in the gym. He also stated that the TV commentary and replays didn't reflect and show the punches he was landing, instead favouring McDermott's performance.

Fury scored two more victories against Tomas Mrazek and Hans-Joerg Blasko before facing McDermott in a rematch on 25 June 2010. This time there was no controversy as Fury won the 12 round fight via TKO in the 9th round, picking up the vacant English heavyweight title in the process. Another three wins followed for Fury, points decisions over American fighters Rich Power and Zack Page in two 8-round matches and a knockout of the Brazilian Marcelo Luis Nacimento in the 5th round.

Fury vs. Chisora

On 23 July 2011, Fury faced undefeated heavyweight Dereck Chisora for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles at Wembley Arena in London. With Chisora aged 27 and Fury just 22 years old, both men went into the fight with a record of 14-0 and despite Fury's superior size and reach, Chisora went into the fight as the favourite. After 12 hard fought rounds Fury won via unanimous decision 117–112, 117–112, 118–111 with the fight shown live on free to air Channel 5.

Fury vs. Firtha, Pajkic

On 17 September 2011, Fury fought 32 year old fringe contender Nicolai Firtha (20-8-1, 8 KO) in a non-title bout at the King's Hall, Belfast. Firtha took the fight on two weeks notice. The opening two rounsd were dominated by Fury. In round 3, Firtha landed a big punch which looked to trouble Fury. Fury regained control of the fight by the next round and forced the referee to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 19 seconds on round 5. Fury admitted he got caught flush, "He caught me with a good punch and I had to come back from it."

Fury returned to the ring on November 12 at the Event City in Trafford Park, Manchester to defend his Commonwealth heavyweight title against then undefeated Canadian heavyweight champion Neven Pajkic. Fury suffered an early scare after being knocked down in round 2 following a big right hand. Although Pajkic hobbled Fury again at the outset of round 3, Fury came back to knock down Pajkic twice during that round. The referee stopped the fight after the last knockdown, much to the protest of Pajkic, who declared himself ready to fight on. Many at ringside thought the stoppage premature.

Fury vs. Rogan, Maddalone

Fury vacated his British and Commonwealth belts in order to pursue a future world title match. On 14 April 2012, Fury traveled to Belfast to fight at the Odyssey Arena for the vacant Irish heavyweight title. His opponent was veteran Martin Rogan (14-2, 7 KOs). Rogan had not fought in 18 months and hadn't beaten an opponent with a winning record since February of 2009. At 245 3/4 lbs., Fury was fighting at the lightest weight of his professional career to date. Fury put Rogan on the canvas with a left hook in the third round. Rogan went down again in round 5 from a body shot. Rogan made it to his feet, but the bout was stopped at the request of his corner.

On 7 July, Fury fought for the vacant WBO Inter-continental heavyweight title against American boxer Vinny Maddalone (35-7, 26 KOs) at the Hand Arena in Clevedon, Somerset. Fury weighed 245.5 pounds, the lightest weight of his professional career to date. Maddalone entered with a record of 4-3 in his previous seven bouts. Fury improved his record to 19-0 with 14 stoppage wins, with a fifth-round technical knockout over Maddalone. Fury controlled the fight from the onset and stunned Maddalone with a combination in the opening round. Fury continued to land heavy punches and opened a cut under his opponent's left eye in the fourth. In round 5, with Maddalone taking punches, the referee stepped in and called and end to the bout with blood streaming out of the cut under the veteran's left eye. It was the fifth knockout loss of Maddalone's professional career. In the post-fight interviews, Fury said, "I knew it was a matter of time. I actually called the referee over, he was taking some big shots. I'm still undefeated. I would like to say I'm ready for anyone in the world. Klitschkos, bring them on. Americans, bring them on. Bring on Tomasz Adamek. He's too small for me and I see an early win for me." Promoter Mick Hennessy also stated a world title fight was 'two or three fights away', targeting Adamek next.

New British and Commonwealth champion Dvid Price called out Fury in October 2012.

Fury vs. Johnson

On 12 November 2012, it was announced that Fury would fight American world title contender Kevin Johnson (28-3-1, 13 KOs) in a WBC title eliminator at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 1 December. Fury said of the fight, "Johnson is just the kind of opponent that I want at this stage of my career,' Fury said. 'We needed a world class fighter and we have got one." Fury won via unanimous decision over Johnson. After 12 rounds, the judges scored it 119–110, 119–108, 119–108 in favour of Fury. Many media outlets including the BBC and ESPN dubbed the fight as a poor showing. Fury claimed he would score a good win, just as rival David Price did when he stopped Matt Skelton, a night earlier. Fury however did box disciplined. Fury, with the win, was now in line to challenge for the WBC title, held at the time by Vitali Klitschko.

Fury vs. Cunningham

On 20 February, it was reported that Fury would fight highly ranked American former world Cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (25-5, 12 KOs) in his United States debut at Madison Square Garden Theater on 20 April. The bout was an IBF title eliminator to determine the Number 2 World Ranking, with the winner then needing to fight unbeaten Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev for the mandatory position for a shot at the long reigning world champion Wladimir Klitschko. Cunningham came into the fight on the rebound from a controversial split decision loss to Tomasz Adamek of Poland. At the weigh in, Cunningham came in 44 pounds lighter than Fury at 210 pounds. Fury weighed 254 pounds. Fury fought wildly in the first two rounds, and was floored by Cunningham in the 2nd round. However, Fury rebounded and handed Cunningham the first knockout defeat of his career with a right hand in the seventh round. Fury was also docked a point in round 5 following a headbutt. A week after the fight, Cunningham spoke to ATG Radio, claiming that Fury used an illegal manoeuvre to knock him out, "He held me with his forearm. He pushed me in the corner twice - which is illegal - and then he pushed me with his forearm, cocked my head to the left and threw a right hook." Cunningham asked for a rematch, but Peter Fury, trainer and uncle of Tyson said it would not happen. The fight card aired on NBC in the late afternoon and averaged 1.2 million viewers, peaking at 1.7 million.

The win gave Fury a world ranking of 7 according to BoxRec, a number 2 ranking according to the IBF, 6th with the WBC, and 5th with the WBO.

Fury vs. Haye negotiations and fallout

Fury was due to fight David Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) on 28 September 2013, in a fight which would have seen Fury fight on a pay-per-view platform for the first time. However, Haye pulled out of the fight on 21 September, after sustaining a cut, which required six stitches, above the eye during training. The fight was originally postponed to 8 February 2014. Haye pulled out of the fight a second time on 17 November, stating that he had a career-threatening shoulder injury which required surgery, and hinted at his retirement. Fury meanwhile, believed that Haye was making excuses because he didn't want the fight, with Fury himself saying "I'm absolutely furious but in all honesty this is exactly what I expected. Everyone knows I was very suspicious when he pulled out the first time and this confirms to me that he's always been afraid of me and never wanted this fight." Aside from training camp expenses, Haye also cost Fury his positions in the world rankings including an IBF final eliminator bout which would have made him mandatory for a shot at the world title.

Fury vs. Chisora II

Fury was due to fight rival and heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora for the second time on 26 July 2014, for the European and once again the British heavyweight title. On 21 July, Chisora was forced to pull out after sustaining a fractured hand in training. Belarusian Alexander Ustinov was lined up as Chisora's replacement in the bout scheduled to take place at the Manchester Arena, Fury pulled out of the fight after his uncle and former trainer Hughie Fury was taken seriously ill. However, Fury and Chisora rescheduled the rematch for 29 November 2014 at ExCeL London. The bout was also a WBO title eliminator and shown live on BoxNation. Fury was victorious again after dominating the fight up until Chisora's corner pulled him out at the end of the 10th round. Fury also used a southpaw stance for the majority of the fight, despite the traditional right handed orthodox stance being his preference. Fury used his jab to trouble Chisora and kept on the outside creating a distance with his longer reach. Chisora failed to land any telling punches, and due to Fury's awkward fighting style, end up hitting him below the belt. Chisora was warned by referee Marcus McDonnell in the first round. After the fight, Fury said, "Wladimir Klitschko, I'm coming for you, baby. I'm coming. No retreat, no surrender." Promoter Mick Hennessy said Fury would likely fight once more before challenging for the world title

Fury vs. Hammer

On 26 December 2014, Sky Sports News announced that Fury would fight once more before challenging Wladimir Klitschko for his world titles. His opponent was Christian Hammer (17-3, 10 KOs) and the fight took place on 28 February 2015 at the O2 Arena in London. Fury claimed he went for an opponent that would give him a challenge rather than an 'easier' opponent, before challenging Klitschko. Fury went on to win the fight when it came to a halt in the 8th round via RTD. Fury dominated the fight from the opening bell and dropped Hammer in round 5 following a short right hook. Following the fight, Fury called out Wladimir Klitschko, claiming he was ready for his world title shot.

Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko

In July 2015, it was confirmed that Fury would fight Wladimir Klitschko in a World Heavyweight title showdown, for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, Lineal and The Ring Heavyweight titles. Initially scheduled for 24 October 2015, the fight was postponed to 28 November 2015 after Klitschko sustained a calf injury. For this match, Fury trained with the highest ranked heavyweight kickboxers in GLORY, Rico Verhoeven and Benjamin Adegbuyi.

The fight took place at Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. Prior to the fight taking place on the night, there was much controversy, first starting with the gloves, then there was a complaint about the ring canvas. Klitchsko reportedly had his hands wrapped without a representative of Fury, so had to do them again. Fury won after twelve rounds by a unanimous decision. The judges scored the fight 116–111, 115–112, 115–112. Klitshko and Fury showed little offence during the 12 rounds, but Fury did enough to take the decision. Klitschko landed 52 of 231 punches thrown (23%) and Fury landed 86 of 371 thrown (23%).

In the post-fight interview, an emotional Fury said, "This is a dream come true. We worked so hard for this. I've done it. It's hard to come to foreign countries ‎and get decisions. It just means so much to me to come here and get the decision." He then took the microphone and to thank Klitschko, "I'd like to say to Wladimir, you're a great champion. And thanks very much for having me. It was all fun and games during the buildup." Klitschko failed to throw his well-known right hand, mostly due to Fury's constant movement and mocking. He said, "Tyson was the faster and better man tonight. I felt quite comfortable in the first six rounds, but I was astonished that Tyson was so fast in the second half as well. I couldn't throw my right hand because the advantage was the longer distance he had." Klitschko had a rematch clause in place.

On 8 December 2015, the IBF stripped Fury of its title, as the contract for the fight against Klitschko included a rematch clause, precluding Fury from facing the IBF's mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov. Fury had held the IBF belt for only 10 days.

Cancelled rematch

After months of negotiation, on 8 April 2016 the rematch with Klitschko was finally announced, this time with the fight scheduled to take place in Fury's home town of Manchester at Manchester Arena on 9 July 2016. On Friday 24 June 2016, it was announced that this fight would be postponed to a later date due to Fury sustaining a sprained ankle in training. On the same Friday, Tyson Fury and his cousin, Hughie Fury, were charged by UK Anti-Doping "with presence of a prohibited substance" from a sample 16 months previously in February 2015, a misconduct the two boxers "strenuously deny". On September 23, Fury again postponed the fight after being declared "medically unfit". It was reported by ESPN, Fury had failed a drug test a day before he pulled out of his World title rematch. Fury cited problems with depression after a positive test for cocaine.

Relinquishing world titles and ban

On 12 October 2016, pending investigation on anti-doping and medical issues, Fury took it upon himself to vacate the WBA (Unified), WBO, IBO heavyweight titles, following an emotional statement. It was said that Fury would have been stripped eventually. However, Fury's decision was based on not having himself under constant pressure and allowing him time to recover, get professional medical help and spend time with his family. 13 October, the British Boxing Board of Control decided to suspend Fury's boxing license. A date in November was set for the appeal hearing.

Potential comeback in 2017

In December 2016, Fury's uncle Peter announced that Tyson would be returning around Spring time in 2017 and would aim for a fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder, who himself will take part in a voluntary defence in February. On December 23, Tyson tweeted that he was back in training ahead of a ring return around April or May 2017. His tweet read, "Merry Christmas guys. I've had a nightmare 2016, done a lot of stuff I'm not proud of, but my promise to you is I'll return in 2017."

On 6 March 2017, Fury tweeted that his return fight would take place on 13 May 2017 and speaking to Frank Warren about possible opponents. The date set for the return would mean Fury would be fighting on the undercard of Josh Warrington defending his WBC International featherweight title against Kiko Martinez at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. Hours after Fury announced a comeback date, the BBBofC spoke out making the public aware that Fury was still suspended and will not be fighting in May. This was confirmed by their general secretary Robert Smith. He also mentioned that there had been no contact from Fury or his representatives since the ban started. Fury later mentioned he would get a license through Boxing Union of Ireland, although they claimed no application had been received.

Promoter Frank Warren told Reuters on 7 March, "I want to see him back in the ring as soon as possible but before that happens he's got a couple of issues to sort out. I've got a lot of time for him...I'd like to be involved in moving forward and getting him back to where he should be, which is being the number one heavyweight." He said that there would be a hearing in early May. A court hearing with UKAD was set for 8 May 2017. On 25 April, Fury advised that he would make his in-ring return on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders' world middleweight title defence against Avtandil Khurtsidze on 8 July in London.

Robert Smith, BBBofC general secretary, said the case was 'complex' and it had been adjourned. He told Sky Sports, "It's been adjourned to carry on later on. It's still ongoing and when they are in a position to give us any more information, they will. This is one of those legal cases where anything legal goes a long time. I'm not surprised, it's not unusual, it's obviously a complex case. I will expect a decision when I'm given it." In September 2017, Fury challenged UK Anti-Doping to give him a reply, to either ban him or give back his boxing license. He believed he was being treated unfairly as it had taken this long for them to reply, stating that usually the problem would be dealt within a matter of months. Fury tweeted, "How long must I be held up and kept out of action? It's been 15 months since I've been under investigation, you're keeping an innocent man from fulfilling his destiny and from providing for his family." UKAD did state there was no particular timescale involved. UKAD denied any claims that they were prolonging the hearing. Instead they claimed they were trying to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Personal life

Fury and his wife Paris married in 2009. He is a practicing Catholic.

In September 2015 Fury expressed a desire to run as an independent candidate to be the UK Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale, opining that the government were too focused on immigrants and not enough on homeless people and those with drug and alcohol problems. He also suggested that Britain should leave the European Union.

Fury said in April 2016 that he had suffered more racial abuse since becoming world champion, because "nobody wants to see a gypsy do well". Also in April, after the press conference, Fury said he will be relocating to the United States after his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko because he does not feel accepted in Great Britain, stating, "I am a gypsy and that's it. I will always be a gypsy, I'll never change. I will always be fat and white and that's it. I am the champion yet I am thought of as a bum. I am moving out of the country. I am going to America where champions are better thought of. I am moving to Los Angeles where people have a better life. I made the decision last week to go where people admire success."

Public behaviour

In 2013, Fury told an interviewer before his first fight at Madison Square Garden that he would "hang" his own sister if she was promiscuous. That same year he was fined £3,000 for calling fellow boxers David Price and Tony Bellew "gay lovers".

Shortly before winning the world titles in November 2015, Fury publicly argued that performance-enhancing drugs (which he denied taking) should be permitted in boxing and other sports. He said: "Why don't they just make drugs totally legal in sports, then everybody would be taking drugs and then it would be fully fair then, wouldn't it? ... It's none of my concern really, but if the governing bodies want to do that then I think it would be a bit fairer because you've got all them people taking drugs and when you face a man who is not taking drugs it becomes unfair, doesn't it?"

After the world championship fight, he stated that he had been cautioned against potential cheating tactics by the Klitschko camp, of which he provided no evidence, and he would not even drink water in the locker room post-fight because of fears that he would be drugged. The British Boxing Board of Control met on 9 December and agreed to summon Fury to explain his recent comments.

In May 2016 the Fury team released a training camp update video which included Fury voicing opposition to transgenderism and also to bestiality and rape but suggested they might eventually be legalised, due to the increasing number of formerly taboo practises becoming accepted, and saying: "Everyone just do what you can, listen to the government follow everybody like sheep, be brainwashed by all the Zionist, Jewish people who own all the banks, all the papers all the TV stations. Be brainwashed by them all." Jonathan Sacerdoti of the Campaign Against Antisemitism called for Fury to be barred from the sport after what he called his "offensive and racist" remarks. The group made a complaint to the British Boxing Board of Control. Responding on Twitter to the controversy, Fury wrote that "all the Zionist media outlets are on my back, because I speak the truth!" and blamed Jews for killing Jesus.

Fury subsequently apologised, saying: "I apologise to anyone who may have taken offence at any of my comments. I said some things, which may have hurt some people, which as a Christian man is not something I would ever want to do. Though it is not an excuse, sometimes the heightened media scrutiny has caused me to act out in public. I mean no harm or disrespect to anyone and I know more is expected of me as an ambassador of British boxing and I promise in future to hold myself up to the highest possible standard. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am in no way a racist or bigot and I hope the public accept my apology."

2015 BBC SPotY award nomination

After winning the world titles he was nominated for the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, but attracted significant criticism in the media relating to statements he had made which his critics called "sexist and homophobic". His nomination ignited a lingering controversy which began even before the Klitschko fight, when Fury seemingly likened homosexuality to paedophilia when he said: "There are only three things that need to be accomplished before the Devil comes home. One of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other is paedophilia. So who would have thought in the 50s and early 60s that those first two would be legalised. … For me, people can say 'oh, you're against homosexuality, you're against abortions, you're against whatever' but my faith and my culture is all based on the Bible. The Bible was written a long time ago, wasn't it, from the beginning of time until now so if I follow that and that tells me it's wrong, then it's wrong for me." Later, over 138,000 people signed an online petition on the American-website Change.org, with the originator saying that what they saw as his "homophobic and sexist views" on societal ethics made him an "unsuitable recipient" for the award. Asked directly if he was homophobic, Fury said: "No. Definitely not. I wouldn't be a very good Christian if I hated anybody. If Jesus loves the world, I love the world."

Fury also stated that Olympic and world champion heptathlete, Jessica Ennis-Hill, a fellow contender for the BBC award, "slaps up good" and that she "looks quite fit in a dress." Fury responded to the controversy by denying he was homophobic and telling iFL TV that his critics could "suck my balls" – and labelled those who signed the petition as "50,000 wankers".

On 9 December, BBC bosses were fighting a frantic battle to save the SPOTY awards, after a leading contender, long jumper Greg Rutherford, threatened to pull out because of the controversy. Rutherford later agreed to stay in the award show, finishing five places below Fury in the public vote. In a separate development, the Sports Journalists' Association withdrew an invitation to Fury to attend the British Sports Awards in London.

On 8 December 2015, the SNP's John Nicolson, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, challenged the BBC over Fury's SPOTY nomination. On 9 December, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that they were investigating an allegation of hate crime against Fury in relation to comments made about homosexuality on Victoria Derbyshire's BBC television programme. The police soon reported that no hate crime, but only what they called a "hate incident", had occurred, so no charge would be laid.

Fury was placed fourth in the BBC SPOTY competition and apologised at the ceremony for his comments, saying: "I've said a lot of stuff in the past and none of it is with intentions to hurt anybody. It's all a bit of tongue in cheek and if I've said anything in the past that's hurt anybody, I apologise to anyone that's been hurt by it."