Tyson Fury has opened up about the struggles he is facing as boxing heavyweight champion, discussing his cocaine usage and depression in a new interview.
Speaking to the Rolling Stone, Fury discussed the recent controversy surrounding his cocaine use, after his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko was cancelled following the revelation that he had tested positive for the class A drug. Fury said that he was battling his “personal demons” outside of boxing, saying that he had become “fat as a pig” as a result of his daily drinking habits.
Fury told the publication that he has been battling depression for a long time, and that he has been experiencing a particularly depressive episode since May. “They say I’ve got a version of bipolar,” he told the outlet. “I’m a manic depressive. I just hope someone kills me before I kill myself.” He continued: “I’ve been out drinking, Monday to Friday to Sunday, and taking cocaine. I can’t deal with it and the only thing that helps me is when I get drunk out of me mind.”
The heavyweight’s battles with his mental illness and addiction have led to his most recent controversy, with it being revealed that he had tested positive for cocaine and his highly anticipated rematch with Klitschko, who he defeated in a title unification match, being canned as a result. Discussing this decision, Fury said: “I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I’ve done lots of cocaine. Lots of it. Why shouldn’t I take cocaine? It’s my life isn’t it? I can do what I want. Yeah, I have done cocaine. Plenty of people have done cocaine as well. What the fuck has that got to do with anything? That ain’t a performance enhancing drug. Am I not allowed to have a life now as well?”
Fury said that his cocaine use started as a result of his his treatment as a Traveller in boxing, saying that Travellers suffer the “biggest racism and discrimination in the country. The boxer later posted a video of the racist abuse he receives on Twitter.
Fury also posted to Twitter that he would be retiring from boxing, though later retracted this claim. However, boxing officials could rule that his drug use means that they will have to revoke his boxing license, which would mean that he would have to drop his heavyweight belts and potentially withdraw from the sport altogether.
